Spain Supreme Court sets up DTT challenge
December 12, 2012
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Supreme Court has overruled the allocation of DTT channels to nationwide TV operators, nullifying the cabinet’s 2010 decision to award an entire multiplex (with a capacity of up to 4 channels) to each national broadcaster: Antena 3, Tele 5, Cuatro, La Sexta, Net TV and Veo 7.
The ruling states the Government did not comply with TV legislation by awarding the additional DTT licences without a public tender and thereby hindering the entry of “new players” in the TV market. The Court’s decision paves the way for a possible challenge of the whole allocation process of DTT licences.
The case was taken to the Supreme Court by Infraestructuras and Gestion 2002, a company which has tried on several occasions to win a DTT licence both on a national and regional scale. The company also took the Catalonian Government to Court over the allocation of Regional DTT licences winning the case as a Catalonian Court annulled the allocation of 37 out of the total 96 DTT licences to local public TV stations.