On July 4th the Minister of State Nikos Pappas announced the identity of the eleven applicants who put their name forward to buy a license for one of the four private channels.
Le Ministre d’Etat Nikos Pappas
They are: Skai, Star Channel, Antenna TV, Dimera Media Investments, Alpha, Ioannis Vladimiros Kalogritsas, Alter Ego, Epsilon TV, Independent Television Content Provider, Mega Channel and City News.
A 5-person committee will now examine each applicant’s bid. The minimum fee for a license is €3 million. Final results will be known in August.
As a reminder, the country currently has eight private channels, each with a free license lasting 25 years. From now on, though, there will be only four licenses, each one paid for and valid for 10 years. Most of the existing private channels have filed an appeal with the Council of State to contest this new way of selecting a television channel. A decision will be taken by the end of July.
According to Nikos Pappas, the important thing is to fulfil Alexis Tsipras’ government’s “major campaign promise”. “After 25 years of anarchy, the Greek broadcasting landscape will operate within a legal framework for the first time. We have put an end to the collusion between television channels, banks and politicians.”
He believes that the eleven applications received are “the best answer to those who fought to avoid an application call.”
Sources: Greek Reporter, Ekathimerini, Satellifax
