RÚV and ministry to begin work on new service agreement

Work will begin this autumn on a new service agreement between RÚV, Iceland’s national broadcaster, and the Ministry of Culture, Innovation and Higher Education, mbl.is reports.

The current agreement was signed at the end of 2023. The article says it runs until 2027, while RÚV Director General Stefán Eiríksson says the agreement is valid until 2028.

“The service agreement is, as required by law, for four years at a time, and the current agreement is valid until 2028. We therefore have plenty of time to discuss a new agreement, and the parties agree that it would be appropriate to begin that work this autumn, as has been the case with previous agreements,” Eiríksson said.

A new agreement was discussed at a RÚV board meeting in June. Board chairman Stefán Jón Hafstein warned about the institution’s financial position, saying RÚV appeared to face clear financial realities over the next five years.

According to the meeting minutes, Hafstein said RÚV’s broad range of services would need to be assessed against the urgent requirement to improve its core activities under those conditions.

Eiríksson said the current service agreement had been discussed at a consultation meeting with the ministry at the end of May. The parties agreed that discussions on a new agreement should begin this autumn.