Spain ‘boosting pay TV at cost of FTA’
June 10, 2014
From David Del Valle in Madrid
UTECA, the private TV Association, has accused the Spanish Administration of boosting the development of pay-TV to the detriment of FTA TV on the grounds that pay TV is benefiting from the recent closure of 9 DTT channels.
“It seems that the government’s intention is to destroy free of charge TV channels”, said Andrés Armas, general director of UTECA, only to the benefit of pay TV.
“In our opinion, everything has been done seeking that in the medium term FTA TV is relegated to a miminum expression, paving the way for the development of different pay TV forms”, he added. UTECA believes that the significant reduction from 24 to 15 DTT channels will bring together “disastrous consequences”.
UTECA believes the government has ignored citizens and users demands putting at risk the whole TV sector.