The Government approves subsidies for public and private television operators for the costs of the Second Digital Dividend

27/07/2020
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  • The Second Digital Dividend is the process by which frequencies allocated to television channels in the 700 MHz band are released so that they can be used to deploy future 5G networks.
  • The objective of these subsidies is to compensate for the costs incurred by private providers to replace transmission equipment and for the simultaneous broadcasting made by public providers to make it easier for citizens to adapt to the new frequencies and that they do not suffer, at any time, the loss of the television service TDT
    • The Council of Ministers has today approved two royal decrees that establish subsidies for public service providers of television audiovisual communication at state and regional level aimed at compensating the costs derived from the simultaneous and transitory broadcasting of their television channels on the frequencies affected by the Second Digital Dividend between 1 July 2020 and 30 September 2020.

    The Council of Ministers has today approved two royal decrees that establish subsidies for public service providers of television audiovisual communication at state and regional level aimed at compensating the costs derived from the simultaneous and transitory broadcasting of their television channels on the frequencies affected by the Second Digital Dividend between 1 July 2020 and 30 September 2020.

    The Second Digital Dividend is the process by which the frequencies of the 700 MHz band, now occupied by DTT channels, are released in order to be used for the deployment of 5G networks.

    Last June, Spain informed the European Union that, due to force majeure, derived from the exceptional situation generated by COVID-19, it was impossible to complete the frequency release process on the initially scheduled date, June 30.

    The new end date of the Second Digital Dividend will be on October 31, although it is only necessary to extend the simultaneous broadcasts until September 30, since from that date there are only actions consisting of direct changes that do not require simultaneity. This three-month extension leads to compensation for public service providers amounting to more than EUR 5 million.

    Likewise, and also within the framework of the Second Digital Dividend, the Council of Ministers has today approved grants of a maximum amount of 10 million euros to private providers of the audiovisual television communication service, regardless of its geographical scope (state, regional or local).

    The grants are awarded to cover the necessary changes to their transmitting equipment as a result of the Second Digital Dividend. This aid has been authorized by the European Commission, within the framework of its compatibility with the State Aid regime.

    Both programs make it easier to change the frequencies used by DTT and for citizens to adapt their facilities so that they do not suffer, at any time, the loss of DTT TV service.