Undecided on airtime
"ALM" television set the highest price for advertisements during the local self-government elections in Yerevan at 110,000 drams for a minute of airtime.
"H2" and "Kentron" television stations set 84,000 drams for a minute of airtime, 82,000 at "Armenia" TV, while AR and "Yerkir Media" set 80,000 drams for a minute of airtime respectively. Public Television will grant 30 minutes free and will charge 80,000 drams a minute for 50 minutes.
Leader of the Armenian Socialist Labor Party Movses Shahverdyan, who is running in the elections for mayor, says that the prices set by television stations are very high.
"How is the public going to use the services provided by Public Television at those rates? We will use free airtime and consider if we can afford the high price, but only very rich political parties may use that," says leader of the party .
Leader of the People's Party Tigran Karapetyan's press secretary Ruzan Stepanyan says that Tigran Karapetyan will use the paid airtime provided by other television stations, but it is not clear how much from each television network. According to her, the prices are good and they were the same two years ago as well.
National Assembly Deputy, press speaker for the Republican Party Edward Sharmazanov said that they will use the airtime provided by all networks by the order constituted by law. According to him, they are not too different from the prices set during the previous elections taking into consideration the global economic crisis.
Press speaker for the Armenian National Congress Arman Musinyan says that they will use the airtime, but not all of it. There are television stations that have offered normal prices and there are others whose prices can be considered "exaggerated". However, the ANC has not made a decision yet.
The campaign kicks off on May 2.
