Media Capital against shared HDTV channel
July 8, 2009
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
The High Definition channel to be aired on DTT and shared by the three Portuguese national broadcasters "cannot be managed and will never be economically viable", according to the CEO of Media Capital, Bernardo Bairrão.
Speaking during the VIII Telecom and Media Forum, he proposed that the space available for free channels on DTT should be occupied by the three broadcasters – TVI, RTP e SIC – to that they can each, separately, develop their own HDTV channel. Bairrão added that this would promote the production of content in high definition in Portugal. Media Capital owns one of Portugal's two commercial broadcasters, TVI.
In a related development, the Ongoing media group, which publishes Portuguese financial daily "Diario Economico", has announced plans to launch a TV version of the paper. According to Ongoing vice-president, Rafal Mora, the channel would be initially available on Portugal Telecom's pay-TV service Meo, while distribution deals could also be signed with other operators.
The project still has to be approved by the Regulating Body for Social Communications (ERC). Initially, the channel would be on the air from 07:00 to 01:00, with the remaining hours occupied with content from the paper's internet TV channel.
…….