Persidera, Europa TV win ‘unfair frequency allocation’ case
October 22, 2018
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Italy’s Council of State has issued a verdict in favour of Persidera and Europa TV on the issue of the unfair distribution of TV frequencies for DTT in 2009.
The Council of State partially accepted their requests and ordered the Communications Authority (AgCom) to remedy the imbalance, reserving the right to intervene again in the case if the regulator doesn’t act.
At the time of the allocation of the frequencies, the two dominant broadcasters, RAI and Mediaset, were allowed to continue using the large number of frequencies they historically enjoyed to the detriment of other broadcasters.
This situation continued despite a ruling by the European Court of Justice, which established that RAI and Mediaset had passed the antitrust ceiling.
However, an AgCom representative admitted to Reuters that it will be difficult to find a rapid solution. “By 2020, when there will be a reorganisation after the allocation of the frequencies for 5G, it is possible to do something, but in the short term there are no frequencies to remedy the situation”, he explained.
The ruling of the Council of State comes after recent appeals filed by RAI, Mediaset, Cairo (La 7), Retecapri, Prima TV against the National Frequency Assignment Plan (PNAF 2018).