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Several TV Channels are Not Ready to Take a Place in Multiplex A. BCC member Mariana Hadarca- Onceanu: “Broadcasters Must be Supported”

08 June 2017
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The Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) has accepted the requests of three TV channels – Agro TV, Jurnal TV and Canal Regional – to offer them a six-month break before they sign the Multiplex A participation contracts.

The managers of these outlets have motivated their requests by not having enough funds to pass to digital broadcasting, even though they have won the contest for slots in the Multiplex. Moreover, the BCC has approved the application from Familia Domașnii TV channel management on giving up the slot it was supposed to take.

The BCC meeting on Thursday, 8 June, was attended by Mihail Iacob, Director of “Radiocomunicații” State Enterprise, who disagreed with the TV channels’ requests, claiming that his institution invested in the construction of the Multiplex. He issued a message for the broadcasters “to not hold back the transition to digital television”. He also said that as long as the slots in Multiplex A are not occupied, Multiplex B cannot be put into operation.

When asked by the BCC member Iurie Colesnic about the guarantees that in six months they would have the required funds, the outlets’ managers noted that they are looking for solutions at the moment. “We are negotiating with two international organizations that could fund several projects, offer grant support,” answered Ludmila Topal, producer of Canal Regional.

The BCC member Mariana Onceanu-Hadarca described the situation with digitization as a “serious problem”. In her opinion, broadcasters must be supported, because otherwise the public risks losing out on the diversity of media.