Antena Group asks for EUR 60mln damages from RCS&RDS

Newsroom 11/07/2011 | 16:47

Antena Group has sued internet, telephony and TV company RCS&RDS, asking it for damages of EUR 60 million, accusing the provider that it laid restrictions on broadcasting the Antena 1 TV channel to the population.

The lawyers of the Antena Group filed a request which completes the initial action in which the group sued the cable company for violating the legal framework for broadcasting ‘must-carry’ programs.

“The size of the damage is established temporarily, while the exact sum will be calculated after a financial audit which will take into consideration the position that Antena 1 has on the market, the turnover of RCS&RDS as well as the market share of 12 percent of the plaintiff TV channel,” says the press release.

According to the press release, Antena 1 suffered a prejudice since the number of viewers was far lower compared to the situation when the programs of the TV channel could have been free of charge.

The broadcasting law labels Antena 1 as a program of the must-carry type, which means that it should be broadcast without technical or financial restraints.
”In spite of this, RCS&RDS imposed fees on the population in order to broadcast this channel, but also other must-carry TV channels, transforming them in financially-restricted channels,” says the press release.