UTECA demands lower DTT bill for small channels
December 14, 2017
From David Del Valle in Madrid
Spanish private TV Association UTECA is set to ask Cellnex, an Abertis subsidiary, to reduce the high bill it pays for the distribution of DTT channels – above all for small DTT operators.
The Association is finalising a proposal to be submitted to Cellnex to change the calculation of the DTT fee to a fixed fee combined with an additional variable fee according to the audience ratings.
The move has been made at the request of the smaller DTT channels – including DKiss, 13TV, Real Madrid TV, Vocento and Unidad Editorial – in an attempt to balance the bills paid by the big and small DTT operators.
Currently, every SD channel pays €5.1 million a year to Cellnex for the DTT distribution, €7 million in the case of a HD channel. This represents around 60 per cent of the annual costs of a small TV channel, putting them at a clear disadvantage with the big players such as Atresmedia and Mediaset – which have around ten times more revenue.