13. 01. 2014

NUMBER OF NATIONAL BROADCASTERS TO INCREASE

Belgrade, January 13, 2013 (Danas) - RBA announces a new competition for digital licenses in February "Danas" learns today.

After we learn this month if a license to broadcast nationally will be granted to Nova.rs or Copernicus, the Republic Broadcasting Agency should in early February announce a new competition for national frequencies, because on 4 August eight-year licenses are due to expire that were granted to B92, Pink , First and Happy. The competition should be announced six months before the expiration of the licenses, and as "Danas" has learned, most likely a public call will be made for more than four national broadcasters.

Our source from the telecommunications field  explained for "Danas" that the RBA probably will not issue permits for analog broadcasting anymore, because in the second half of this year one part of the digitization process is expected to be completed, in other words one of the three digital transmitters - multiplexes, should be up and running. There have been suggestions that the current permits for national broadcasters will be extended for another six months until digitization is complete, but that decision has been abandoned. Consequently, the RBA will announce in February a competition for digital licenses, and since the digital multiplex has more "space", it is possible that this time more than four licenses be granted, maybe even ten new licenses .

" When you move to a digital signal, there will be more room for national coverage, so that in a way the competition for national broadcasters will be constantly open. The available space on the multiplex will determine the number of national broadcaster, so almost anyone who wants to will be able to broadcast program on the national level. "Bearing in mind that by the end of the year, a good portion of digitization will be completed, there is no point of  assign analog frequencies now, and in two months the digital ones," says our source.

The first competition in 2006 granted  permits for national frequencies for eight years to five television stations - Pink , B92 , Fox which later transformed into First , Avala and Happy, and among candidates were BK , RTL and "Politika". Due to the large debts and deviations from the program concept  TV Avala lost its license in 2012, and the frequency it was used was employed for the efficient completion of the digitization process. From one part of that frequency and parts of other ones recently  a new frequency was "made​​", for which the RBA announced a competition where Nova.rs and Copernicus applied.

Lead:

NOVA AND COPERNICUS IN THE GAME

"Danas" has learned that RRA should be in next week make a decision on who will get a license for a national frequency form broadcasters who have applied at the competition, until 30 December last year. Candidates are Nova.rs and Copernicus, one of which will get an "analog license," which will be after the transition to digital broadcasting automatically converted to a digital license.