Spanish Private TV broadcasters are doing their utmost to avoid the closure of nine DTT channels. They have appealed before the Supreme Court against the closures which the Court has ordered and will take the case to the Constitutional Court.

In parallel, UTECA, the private TV Association, is holding talks with the government in search of a negotiated solution so as not to close the channels under threat by claiming damages of around €5 milliont from the administration.

All these legal moves may delay the allocation of the digital dividend which was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of the month.

The Supreme Court had urged the government to comply with its ruling to close down the nine DTT channels with immediate effect thus reversing the extension granted by the government in May, which had allowed the channels to continue broadcasting until 2014.

In its December’s ruling, the Court insisted that the awarding of DTT channels in 2010 without a public tender was unlawful and ordered the closure as soon as possible.

The affected TV broadcasters are Atresmedia, owner of Antena 3 and La Sexta, which should eliminate three DTT channels; Mediaset, owner of Tele 5 and Cuatro among others, which should eliminate two DTT channels; and Net TV and Veo TV, who will have to drop two DTT channels each.

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