The Broadcasting Coordination Council held public debates on the draft regulations concerning the procedure for providing slots in digital terrestrial multiplexes and issuing broadcast licenses and retransmission authorizations for using these multiplexes. The representatives of the media NGOs and owners of TV channels submitted proposals for improving the document, IPN reports.
Petru Macovei, executive director of the Association of Independent Press, said the Council should employ the same criteria as those used by the international institutions when assessing the participants in contests to distribute slots. This way the participants will also know better what’s expected of them. The irregularities committed earlier should be taken into account so that the participants in a previous contest that were often penalized could not receive a slot in the multiplex.
Dumitru Tara, director of the channel Realitatea TV, said he feels discriminated when he sees that the regulations require that a children’s channel, a music channel and a sports channel should be present in the multiplex. All the TV channels provide sport news as part of their news bulletins, while operating as a music TV channel is very expensive.
The Council members agreed that there is only one children’s channel and one sports channel in Moldova so that they will be favored. Thus, new solutions will have to be identified until the regulations are adopted.
Broadcasting Coordination Council chairman Dinu Ciocan said they should first announce the price of a slot in the first national multiplex and should afterward hold the contest to issue authorizations because the TV channels need to assess their financial possibilities.
