European Commission finds Spain’s support for private TV broadcasters detrimental to IPTV

After analysing a Spanish scheme aimed to compensate terrestrial private broadcasters for carrying out parallel broadcasting during the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting, the European Commission has concluded that the measure provided a selective advantage to terrestrial broadcasters and platform operators over other available technologies. According to the Commission,  Spain was in breach of EU rules on state aid, as it intended to provide support for the transition from analogue to digital TV broadcasting only to digital terrestrial broadcasters, to the detriment of alternative platforms such as IPTV or cable.