Telecom tax to finance public broadcaster

Spain’s Council of Ministers has passed the bill on a new financing model for the country’s public broadcaster Corporacion de Radio y Television Espanola (RTVE).
This action ends the reform process concerning the state-owned mass media and defines its role in the audiovisual sector.
According to first VP Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega, the new model includes the immediate elimination of advertising and the use of public resources to finance the public radio and television services.
The end to advertising on public radio and TV is mainly due to “the considerable fall in the advertisement market as a consequence of the economic crisis”, which could affect RTVE’s financial stability reports Telecompaper.
Once the law comes into force, the Spanish public broadcaster will only be financed through public resources.
Part of the financing will come from the state budget.
Commercial TV operators with national coverage or with operations in more than one autonomous region will contribute 3 percent of their annual revenues and telecommunications operators will contribute 0.9 percent of their revenues.
In addition, RTVE will receive 80 percent of the benefits obtained via the spectrum domain reserve tax.
RTVE will also obtain funding from its own activities and from the commercialisation of its services and products. According to Fernandez de la Vega, RTVE will use public revenues to fund public service activities exclusively, and not to bid against competitors
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 12th May 2009