Argentina tenders 82 new television channels

Of the 82 new channels, 60 will be high power (like the five in the Federal Capital) and 20 will be low power.

The Federal Authority for Audiovisual Communication Services (AFSCA) has awarded the tender for 82 new digital television channels, a migration plan from analogue to digital TV and the reordering of the signals that currently broadcast in the UHF band.

Now, of the 82 new channels, 60 will be high power (like the five in the Federal Capital) and 20 will be low power. The new stations will be in the metropolitan area of ​​Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Tucumán, Resistencia, Formosa, Comodoro Rivadavia and Santa Fe.

The Government's objective is to regularize the channels that began operating without a license in 2009 and do not meet the requirements established by the media law to continue operating on digital TV.

The Government is also seeking to generate new channels, where even the dominant telephone companies, such as Telefónica and Telecom, could appear. This would be possible thanks to the Audiovisual Communication Services Law approved at the end of last year, by which these companies that provide public services can access to be holders of radio and television licenses, through the new Argentina Digital Law.

However, the opposition has denounced this process taking place just a few months before Cristina Fernández de Kirchner leaves the Government.