As first noted by ESC Discord during the performance of Poland’s Luna at the first semi-final the broadcaster cut-away from the show to broadcast news about Chinese president Xi Jinping arriving in Serbia.
The EBU rules require broadcasters to broadcast all shows in which they are participating in full. While the broadcast did continue on another channel it meant that viewers in Serbia missed part of Poland’s performance as they had to switch channels.
The broadcaster did announce prior to the start of the show that during the show the broadcast would temporarily move over to RTS 2 at some point during the show however, the timing of the change gave viewers no warning and any viewer who joined late may not have heard the warning.
It is not known why the broadcaster chose to cut away from the show instantly instead of waiting until the performance had ended so they could give viewers time to switch over without missing any of the show.
If the EBU were to deem this a breach of the contest rules then the Serbian broadcaster may be fined.
Image courtesy of Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
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