Andalusia calls for 111 local and privately managed DTT licenses

The 111 signals to be awarded are distributed among 44 districts of the eight Andalusian provinces.

The Government Council has approved the call for a new competition to re-allocate licenses for the provision of local digital terrestrial television service and commercial management. The objective is to provide legal security to the Andalusian audiovisual scene after the annulment, by the Supreme Court, of 79 licenses that were granted in thirty of the 62 territorial demarcations into which the autonomous community is divided.

The new tender will include, along with the 79 licenses canceled at the time, another 32 that remained empty to date, with a total of 111 of 44 demarcations being put out to tender. The call simplifies the documentation to be provided by bidders and speeds up the concession procedure.

Interested companies will have a period of 45 calendar days to submit their applications starting on the day following publication in the Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía. Once received, the autonomous Administration will have a period of six months to resolve the competition. The concessions will be valid for fifteen years, extendable for the same period.

Regarding the conditions and award criteria, the call includes, among other requirements for licensees, a minimum broadcast time of four hours a day, an adequate volume of in-house production made in Andalusia, strict respect for the rights of minors and compliance with current regulations on television advertising. Among the basic principles to which broadcasts must comply are the truthfulness and impartiality of the information, respect for pluralism and constitutional rights and freedoms, the promotion of awareness of the Andalusian identity and the defense of culture and local interests.

Once the tender has ended, the successful bidders must begin emissions within a maximum period of six months from the date of publication of the resolution agreement.