HUF 10 million fine for “Sztárbox” episode found lawful
The Budapest-Capital Regional Court of Appeal ruled in its final judgment at second instance that the fine imposed on RTL by the Media Council of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) for an episode of ‘Sztárbox’ was lawful. In another case, the NMHH contacted the Czech media authority concerning a breach of classification regulations.
The NMHH Media Council found that HEGYVIDÉK RÁDIÓ (Budapest 102.5 MHz) violated its obligation to broadcast in accordance with the terms of its public contract and provide uninterrupted media services between 10 February 2026 and 16 March 2026, and therefore the Council warned the media service provider, Hegyvidék Média Kft., and ordered it to refrain from future violations and maintain legal compliance.
Following a complaint, the NMHH launched an investigation into the programme ‘Passenger 57’ broadcast by the permanent media service ‘AMC TV (Hungary)’, falling under Czech jurisdiction, on 5 April 2026 from 9.06 a.m., in terms of compliance with classification regulations. The media service provider broadcast the film with no age rating, which formally corresponds to age category I (suitable for all audiences) under Hungarian legislation; however, the authority’s investigation concluded that the programme should have been classified in age category IV (not recommended for audiences under the age of sixteen) due to violent scenes and, accordingly, could only have been broadcast after 9.00 p.m. The NMHH notified the Czech media authority (RRTV) of the suspected violation and requested it to take the necessary measures.
In its final judgment at second instance, the Budapest-Capital Regional Court of Appeal ruled that the NMHH lawfully imposed a HUF 10 million fine on M-RTL Zrt. for the episode of ‘Sztárbox’ broadcast on 5 November 2023 from 7.29 p.m. as the media service provider violated the classification regulations by airing the aforementioned programme.