BCC issues licenses for satellite broadcasting to three broadcasters

The Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) approved the allotment of broadcast licenses via satellite to three Chisinau broadcasters on October 11. Ion Terguta, director of the television channel DTV, said that the DTV signal will not be coded. There will be carried out talks with the cable operators that want to retransmit the signal under reciprocally advantageous conditions. DTV will not retransmit other foreign posts, only national programmes. The cited source informed the Council members about the intention to create a local television network in partnership with 12 channels from Moldova. The channels that will form part of the network will preserve their autonomy and will broadcast a part of the programmes made in Chisinau. Valeriu Frumusachi, vice chairman of the BCC, described the broadcast schedule of DTV as “good and rich”, urging his colleagues to vote in favour of issuing the broadcast license via satellite. The former BCC chairman Corneliu Mihalache was the only one to vote against. Euro TV Chisinau Ltd got a license for broadcasting via satellite the television channel with the same name by the vote of six of the eight BCC members present. Valeriu Soltan and Corneliu Mihalache voted against, the latter expressing his dissatisfaction with the fact that the channel levies taxes from the cable operators for retransmitting the signal. Five BCC members of the eight present at the meeting voted to give broadcast licenses via satellite to TeleDixi Ltd and to the channel CTC. At the same meeting, the Council members voted against issuing a license for satellite broadcasting to the realty agency “Lara” for an advertising channel. During the debates, the BBC member Vlad Turcanu said that the Council should support the local broadcasters. If it gives a license for a publicity channel, the local broadcasters will lose a significant part of their adverts. Corneliu Mihalache said that the situation has two aspects. On the one hand, the BCC should protect the local broadcasters. On the other hand, this is the first attempt to create a local, specialized channel, initiative that also must be backed. In the end, the Council voted against.