# Hungary: Klubradio loses its terrestrial broadcast license over its tender application

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: in effect, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The source reviewed does not report whether other broadcasters' tender applications with similar errors received the same treatment.

Hungary's Media Council ended Klubradio's decades-old terrestrial broadcast license, citing errors in its renewal application, after the station had built a following as one of the country's few remaining independent voices.[1][2][3][4]

- Country: [Hungary](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/hu) (RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180)
- Where: Hungary
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Licensing and closure of outlets
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing#stage-silence)
- Ladder note: A national broadcast regulator ended one of the country's last independent stations' terrestrial license over its paperwork, and the country's top court upheld the decision.
- Head of government at the time: [Viktor Orban](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/viktor-orban)
- Issue of the day: The decision affected one of the last Hungarian broadcasters to carry news and talk programming independent of the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
- Outcome: Upheld by a court, 1 September 2021. Hungary's Curia upheld the Media Council's denial of Klubradio's license renewal in September 2021.
- Era: The 2020s

## What happened

Hungary's Media Council, the country's broadcast regulator known as the NMHH, denied Klubradio's license renewal in September 2020, and the station's terrestrial broadcasting ceased in February 2021 once its old license expired. The council said Klubradio's tender application contained incorrect, incomplete and contradictory submissions, pointing to specific issues such as an incompletely filled-out form and a program length recorded as 45 minutes rather than 50. The council also questioned the sustainability of a business model relying on listener donations. Klubradio's owner, Andras Arato, acknowledged one of the errors, saying the station had failed to complete a form correctly, but argued the underlying decision was aimed at the station's independent voice. Hungary's highest court, the Curia, upheld the Media Council's decision in September 2021. Klubradio has continued broadcasting online since losing its terrestrial signal.[1][2][3][4]

Hungary's Curia upheld the license denial in September 2021, and Klubradio has broadcast online only since losing its terrestrial signal.[4]

## What reason was given

The Media Council said Klubradio's tender submission was "incorrect, incomplete and contradictory," and that it was Klubradio's own application, not the council, that ended the station's terrestrial service.[1]

## What changed for reporting

One of Hungary's few remaining independent broadcasters lost its terrestrial frequency, keeping its programming from radio listeners who did not seek it out online.[1][2][3][4]

## Timeline

- 2021-02-14: Hungary: Klubradio loses its terrestrial broadcast license over its tender application

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Viktor Orban](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/viktor-orban) | other | Prime Minister of Hungary (through 2026) |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Klubradio](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/klubradio) | outlet | affected |
| [Andras Arato](https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/andras-arato) | journalist, Klubradio | affected |

## Sources

1. Hungary's Klubradio owner Andras Arato on how the station is responding to the loss of its broadcast license. https://cpj.org/2021/11/hungary-klubradio-andras-arato-loss-broadcast-license/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-11-09).
2. Fresh blow to press freedom in Hungary as Klubrádió forced off the air. https://www.euronews.com/2021/02/09/hungary-s-first-independent-radio-station-klubradio-to-go-off-air-on-sunday (Euronews, 2021-02-09).
3. Klubrádió: Frequency to be taken over by group close to Orbán. https://www.euronews.com/2021/04/11/klubradio-frequency-of-hungarian-independent-radio-to-be-taken-over-by-group-close-to-orba (Euronews, 2021-04-11).

## Claims cited

[1] The Media Council said Klubradio's tender application was incorrect, incomplete and contradictory. Quote: "It was not the Media Council...that 'deprived' listeners of Klubradio's radio media service...but Klubradio itself, which submitted an incorrect, incomplete and contradictory tender." Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-11-09. Hungary's Klubradio owner Andras Arato on how the station is responding to the loss of its broadcast license. https://cpj.org/2021/11/hungary-klubradio-andras-arato-loss-broadcast-license/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/515, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] Klubradio's terrestrial broadcasting ceased in February 2021 after the Media Council denied its license renewal the previous September. Quote: "Terrestrial broadcasting ceased" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-11-09. Hungary's Klubradio owner Andras Arato on how the station is responding to the loss of its broadcast license. https://cpj.org/2021/11/hungary-klubradio-andras-arato-loss-broadcast-license/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/580, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] Klubradio's owner acknowledged the station had not completed a form correctly on its tender application. Quote: "One of our gravest mistakes in that application – according to the Media Council – was that we did not complete a form correctly." Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-11-09. Hungary's Klubradio owner Andras Arato on how the station is responding to the loss of its broadcast license. https://cpj.org/2021/11/hungary-klubradio-andras-arato-loss-broadcast-license/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/581, checked 2026-09-22.

[4] Hungary's highest court, the Curia, upheld the Media Council's decision in September 2021. Quote: "Hungary's highest court (the Curia) upholding the decision in September 2021" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-11-09. Hungary's Klubradio owner Andras Arato on how the station is responding to the loss of its broadcast license. https://cpj.org/2021/11/hungary-klubradio-andras-arato-loss-broadcast-license/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/582, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-hungary-klubradio-loses-broadcast-license. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.