New Spanish Government to take DTT bull by the horns
Spain's recently-elected Government is likely to overturn local DTT legislation, approved by its predecessor two days before the elections, and to approve a new DTT Technical Plan to re-launch DTT. One of the first measures to be taken by the new Government will be the re-allocation of collapsed DTT operator Quiero's three and a half multiplexes.
The new Administration will rely on public broadcaster TVE and commercial broadcasters Antena 3, Tele 5, Canal Plus and digital operators Net TV and Veo TV, to lead the development of the DTT market. TVE, which has applied for eight digital TV channels, is already working on a free-to-air DTT platform that would initially offer 20 to 30 channels, including interactive and added-value services. The launch of this platform probably will not take place at least until the end of this year or the beginning of 2005.
The new Government is also preparing a new General Audio-visual Law to regulate the entire TV industry, and gather into a single piece of legislation the existing chaotic and diverse TV regulations covering about television and radio, according to Minister of Commerce Jose Montilla (pictured).
The Minister also announced the creation of a national Audiovisual Council, called Consejo Superior de Medios Audiovisuales; an independent regulatory body "to guarantee pluralism and quality of media content". This watchdog entity would assume most of the current responsibilities taken by the Telecommunications Market Commission.