Advanced Television

Spain: 17 DTT channels face closure

May 28, 2013

From David Del Valle in Madrid

The existence of 17 DTT channels has been thrown put into question. The Supreme Court may consider invalidating the licences of another 8 DTT channels that were awarded by the previous Administration without a public tender, extending the total number of affected TV channels to 17.  The company Infraestructuras y Gestion 2002, which took the case to the Court, has made an appeal requesting the Supreme Court to execute the ruling and close down the 17 affected DTT channels.

The plaintiff argues that only 7 channels were awarded through a public tender, but not the other 17 which should cease their broadcasts following the Supreme Court’s ruling.

A decision from the Supreme Court is expected over the next weeks. The government’s plans to award again the licences, this time through a public tender, may be delayed now until a final decision is taken. Likewise, the January 2014 deadline for the allocation of the frequencies to be used for the provision of 4G mobile services may also be affected and not completed by that time.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, DTT/DSO, Policy, Regulation