Greece Establishes Independent Media Authority to Handle TV Licenses

Court had previously struck down ruling party’s auction of broadcast permits

The Wall Street Journal

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Nov. 10, 2016 2:41 p.m. ET
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ATHENS—Greece’s government and opposition late on Thursday broke an impasse toward the regulation of the country’s television sector, after they formed an independent media watchdog that will now take responsibility for organizing the new licensing procedure.

The presidents of the parliament reached a cross-party consent in the appointment of the nine-member body of the National Council for Radio and Television. The number of the licenses that will be auctioned will be decided by the new independent authority.



In early September, the government, led by the left-wing Syriza party, auctioned broadcast permits for only four private TV channels, leaving several existing TV stations facing closure.

But the auction process was struck down late last month by Greece’s constitutional court.

The legal defeat undermined Syriza’s self-styled effort to bring to heel Greece’s oligarchs, who control much of the country’s media as well as shipping, public works and other sectors.

Despite the government’s initial confrontational stance after the ruling, Syriza and the Minister of Digital Reform Nikos Pappas, who is overseeing the process, have softened their stance.

Days after the court ruling, the parliament voted for an amendment transferring all powers related to the TV tender from Mr. Pappas’s ministry to the independent watchdog.

On Thursday the government also accepted main opposition party New Democracy’s proposed candidates for the chairman and deputy chairman of the independent watchdog, Athanassios Koutromanos and Rodolfos Moronis, respectively.

Private television broadcasting in Greece was first launched 27 years ago, but the channels have been operating under temporary TV licenses without charge.

The TV shake-up was the centerpiece of Syriza’s effort to challenge the vested political and business interests that Syriza says have long controlled Greek public life. The government billed its reform of Greek TV as necessary to combat corruption and dismantle a network of vested interests among media moguls, banks and the political establishment.

But critics said Syriza’s media reform looked more like a bid to create its own network of power relationships with new, friendly media owners.

The court case has dealt a blow to Syriza’s image as a new broom sweeping clean Greece’s politics. The governing party currently trails the conservative New Democracy in opinion polls.

Write to Nektaria Stamouli at Nektaria.Stamouli@wsj.com