On May 2, 2018, Georgian Young Lawyers' Association presented a research: "How much does the Public Broadcaster cost?"

The research has revealed whether the Public Broadcaster needs additional income and how well it manages the funds allocated from the state budget, whether the Board of Trustees operates efficiently and how it makes decisions on amendments to the budget of the Public Broadcaster.

According to the findings:

- The Board of Trustees adopts the budget of the Public Broadcaster and makes amendments therein without requesting any detailed budget and justifications from the Director of the Public Broadcaster;

- More than half of the GPB budget is spent on payroll compensations;

- The data submitted to the Ministry of Finance by the Public Broadcaster for drawing up the state budget - the number of employees and their remuneration - is not accurate and must be inspected;

- The Public Broadcaster does not have a staff schedule and a procedure for determining remuneration;

- The Public Broadcaster is at the top of the list in terms of revenues (thanks to state funding), while it takes merely the fourth place in the average annual rating (2017);

- The 2018 projects of the Public Broadcaster are costly for the budget;

- The Public Broadcaster's website does not provide and even if requested does not issue any relevant information concerning the budget;

- Agendas of the meetings of the GPB Board of Trustees do not include a comprehensive list of issues to be discussed;

- The funds allocated from the state budget for the Public Broadcaster is often much larger than the funds allocated to other institutions, and the efficiency and programme priorities of the Public Broadcaster has not been assessed yet.

See the full version of the research below.