Mediaset want EC STB decision reversed
June 22, 2009
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset has requested that the European Court in Luxembourg annuls the decision of the European Commission regarding the illegality of state subsidies for the acquisition of DTT decoders.
At question is the European Commission's decision of 2007, that subsidies awarded by Italy for the years 2004 and 2005 for the acquisition of digital terrestrial decoders be stopped.
Italy's 2004 Budget has foreseen a subsidy of E150 per decoder, with a total appropriation of E110 million, while the 2005 Budget had refinanced the E110 appropriation, but reduced the individual contribution to E70.
The complaint was presented to the European Commission in 2004 by rival broadcaster Centro Europa 7 and later also by DTH operator Sky Italia.