BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU competition regulators on Thursday ordered Spain to recover illegal state aid given to TV broadcasters to switch to digital broadcasting from analogue in a new ruling after Europe’s top court annulled its 2013 decision.
The European Commission said an additional investigation triggered by the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice’s judgment in 2017 showed that Spain had granted state aid to the broadcasters between 2005 and 2008.
“The measures are selective because they benefit only DTT (digital terrestrial television) operators, although DTT and satellite technologies are in a comparable factual and legal situation (satellite technology could have been used for the digital switch-over in remote areas),” the EU antitrust enforcer said in a statement.
It said Spain will determine the amount to be recovered from each broadcaster in line with the Commission’s methodology.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)
