An application has been submitted to Hungary’s National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) for the launch of Szivárvány TV (Rainbow TV), which would become the country’s first dedicated LGBTQ television channel.
According to reports, the unnamed Hungarian media entrepreneur behind the project has filed for a 24-hour linear television channel that will also offer online streaming.
The channel aims to target the LGBTQ community while producing content accessible to a wider audience.
The planned programming will feature premium cultural and entertainment shows, arts and music programmes, gastronomy and lifestyle features, talk shows and content exploring LGBTQ history and experiences.
Daytime broadcasts will be freely available, while any 18+ material will be encrypted and restricted in line with Hungarian regulations.
The applicant has stressed that the channel will strictly observe child protection rules and consciously avoid divisive ideologies.
The timing of the application comes just days after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that significant parts of Hungary’s 2021 child protection law, which restricted content depicting homosexuality or gender issues to minors, violated European Union law.
The 2021 law was officially presented as a child-protection measure, designed to strengthen rules against paedophilia.
The ECJ found that the law “stigmatises and marginalises non-cisgender persons – including transgender persons – or non-heterosexual persons as being detrimental to the physical, mental and moral development of minors solely on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation”.
The entrepreneur, who has chosen to remain anonymous for now, indicated that further details about the project and ownership will be revealed closer to launch.
If approved by the NMHH under standard licensing procedures, Rainbow TV would represent a notable shift in Hungary’s media landscape, introducing the first channel specifically serving the LGBTQ+ community.
The authority is expected to review the application in the coming weeks.
