An application to register the network was reportedly filed immediately after the country’s gay propaganda law was struck down by the top EU court
An unknown applicant has reportedly filed to register the first-ever LGBTQ-themed TV channel in Hungary.
It comes just two days after the EU Court of Justice struck down a law passed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban restricting or banning the “promotion” of homosexuality and gender change in media accessible to children. The 2021 legislation was found in violation of the values the EU is supposedly built upon, and the court ordered Budapest to repeal the law or face further action, including financial penalties.
Shortly after the ruling was made public, an unknown entity filed an application to register the first LGBTQ-themed channel in the country, Hungarian outlet Media1 reported on Thursday, citing sources. The project, Rainbow TV, aims to reach a wider audience and will include a variety of content such as cultural programming, arts, music, culinary segments, talk shows, and interviews.
The network is expected to be structured in accordance with age classifications, and is likely to have adult content on its schedule, restricted through technical means, according to the report.
The EU court ruling came less than ten days after Orban suffered a decisive election defeat to his former ally and longtime rival Peter Magyar. The incoming PM has campaigned on mending ties with Brussels and securing more than €16 billion ($19 billion) of bloc funding for the country, withheld under Orban over allegations of corruption and rule-of-law issues.
The incoming government will have to weigh the costs of a rapprochement with the EU and the risk of irking the country’s conservatives if it repeals the LGBTQ propaganda law. While Magyar largely kept quiet about sexual minority issues during his campaign, he pledged to shape Hungary into a country “where no one is stigmatized for thinking differently than the majority or loving differently than the majority.”
