The Council of State (CoS), Greece’s supreme court, has rejected a temporary injunction motion by four private TV stations against the government’s television frequencies tender.
Four stations — Antenna, Alpha, Star and Skai — were asking for a temporary freeze to the frequencies tender which, according to the bill voted in parliament last year, would auction seven TV frequencies, with a starting price of €35 million each.
The final price for each auctioned frequency would have to be paid in 10 tranches, while the duration for the use of each frequency would be 10 years since their final approval.
Lawyers for the channels argued the decree limiting auctioned frequencies to seven, signed by both the Digital Policy and Finance ministers, was unconstitutional and against both EU law and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The CoS plenary session heard arguments from both the four TV stations’ lawyers and those of the Greek state but ruled against the motion.
Although this could be considered a win for the government, the case is far from over. The CoS will hear the main motion against the frequencies tender in March 2018, when it will offer its final ruling on the issue.
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