Radictistan Broadcasting Service
| Public broadcasting | |
| Industry | Mass media |
| Headquarters | Broadcasting House Nuxenstat, Grand Duchy of Radictsistan |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Services | Television, radio, online |
Number of employees | 25,398 |
| Divisions | RBS World Service |
| Website | http://www.rbs.co.rd |
The Radictistan Broadcasting Service (RBS) (Radictistani: Radictistanische Rundfunkdiens, RRD) is a Radictistani public broadcaster. It is an autonomous government-owned corporation providing television, radio, and online news and entertainment services for the Radictistani domestic audience, and for foreign audiences through the RBS World Service. The RBS is required by law to maintain strict editorial independence from the Radictistani government. The RBS operates the highest rated radio and television networks in Radictistan.
Finances
The Radictistan Broadcasting Service is funded through the annual budget of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The RBS also receives income from syndication of its in-house programming and home media sales. The RBS does not carry commercial advertising on any of its radio or television channels.
Services
Television
The RBS operates eleven television channels within Radictistan. RBS One is a twenty-four hour news/current affairs channel and is considered the flagship RBS station. RBS Two and RBS Three broadcast entertainment and sports programming. RBS Parliament covers the proceedings of the Radictistani parliament. In addition to these five national channels, the RBS provides regional, tailored programming colloquially known as "RBS Six." Viewers in each of Radictistan's seven counties receive a separate feed. All RBS television channels are available via cable and satellite services. All channels are also available by free over-the-air broadcast. The RBSat communications satellite constellation is used for television broadcast headend.
In addition to those channels intended for a national audience, the RBS World Service offers its own television services for international consumption under the RBS World Television ident. One standard definition and one high definition channel are broadcast by satellite to viewers all over the world.
Radio
The RBS has eleven AM radio stations serving the domestic Radictistani audience. Four are of a national focus of which RBS Radio One and RBS Radio Three are news and documentary channels while RBS Radio Two and RBS Radio Four host a variety of entertainment formats. Each County also has its own radio station broadcasting a combination of local news and entertainment programming. In addition, the RBS World Service operates a shortwave service from a transmitter located to the west of Greater Nuxenstat in the county of Westwoodsur. There are plans to begin digital broadcasting in the future to better provide national coverage with only a single frequency per service but no funding for domestic services has been allocated as of yet. The RBSat communications satellite constellation is used for radio broadcast headend.
Internet
The RBS has a substantial online presence. Comprehensive news coverage is available at news.rbs.co.rd. Live streams of all television and radio programming are available online and visitors from within Radictistan can enjoy free on demand viewing of all television programs broadcast within the last fourteen days.
Criticism and controversies
Impartiality
While the RBS is obliged to maintain editorial independence from the Radictistani government and its governance structure is designed to prevent official interference, the company's dependence on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for most of its funding creates oppurtunities for coercion of the network to serve official purposes. Critics of the RBS claim that RBS news coverage is frequently slanted to favor the government and portrays the second-tier opposition parties in a negative light. The network's coverage of the Norcustsur conflict has particularly come under fire, allegedly failing to properly castigate the government for security lapses.
Quasi-monopoly
It has been argued that the RBS enjoys a legal quasi-monopoly status. Radictistani broadcasting regulations limit the number of distinct markets which a private terrestrial broadcaster may enter. These rules thereby ensure that the state broadcaster continues to be the only the one with a truly national reach. The Radictistani government has responded to these claims by referring to the growing number of news, entertainment, and sports channels carried by cable and satellite providers and available everywhere in the country by those means.
Technological inferiority
The RBS is also criticized for being technologically backward compared to private broadcasters, having been slow to begin the transition to digital broadcasting.
Content restrictions
The RBS maintains strict guidelines for third-party programs shown on its entertainment-focused television channels. Because of the RBS' considerable market share, these guidelines form a de facto standard for television content and have proved controversial. Of particular note is the rule prohibiting any program from the RBS airwaves "which portrays an individual taking the law into their own hands in a positive light or which seemingly endorses such a course of action." This rule effectively prohibits superhero fiction and has been sometimes characterized by opposition politicians as promoting the Government's policy on crime.