Iñaki Ferreras | 04-09-2012

The management team of the Portuguese Public Radio Television (RTP) have announced their resignation in opposition to a possible temporary concession to privatise the state agency and the closure of its second channel.

In a statement, the Board of Directors of the RTP confirmed that the Conservative Portuguese Government has accepted the resignation request and criticised the "public disclosure" of the possible intentions of the Executive.

Last week, the government adviser for privatisation António Borges, former director of the department for Europe International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in an interview to a Portuguese channel that one of the possible solutions to the RTP was a temporary transfer to private hands . Borges defended the temporary privatisation as a way to reduce the costs incurred by RTP for state coffers, which, according to their data, totalling more than 200 million euros per year.

Currently, RTP is financed by advertising, by a grant from the Government and from a tax levy. The RTP group includes, among others, two national channels (RTP 1 and RTP 2), three radio stations (Antena 1, Antena 2 and Antena 3), regional television RTP RTP Azores and Madeira and international chains RTP Africa and RTP Internacional.


Read more: RTP management resigns against privatisation | Rapid TV News