Colombia. Participating in calls for financial support, investing in own content the total income from advertising and co-producing the realization of programs or the transmission of events, are some of the benefits for community TV consigned in the new regulations of the National Television Authority.
The new regulations conform to the one that was in force since 2006 to the conditions of service and regulatory frameworks such as the FTA with the United States. Among the highlights are the optimization of the procedures for the assignment and extension of licenses; provides the power for community channels to have up to nine hours a week of their own content and have two hours a day to broadcast independent productions made by community members.
In addition, it determines that the compensation payments for the operation of the service will depend on the number of associates and the level of NBI (unmet basic needs) of the municipality in which the service is provided.
In terms of programming, community TV will offer on its grid the national, regional and local channels of open transmission in the coverage area, the satellite signal of the Congress channel, the University Zoom Channel and a channel of its own production.
Likewise, they have the possibility of adding thematic satellite channels of national production, in addition to the transmission of seven coded channels and free or incidental channels, with the prior authorization of copyright in each case.
Co-productions may be made between channels of the same department, for the transmission of sporting or cultural events or the realization of programs for children, ethnic or disabled audiences.
In terms of calls for support, the ANTV will open these processes from the second half of 2013 with resources from the Fund for the Development of Television and Content (Fontv).
The recent regulation also contemplates a period of 10 years for the validity of the license to provide the service, extendable, and a limit of six thousand associates in each organized community.
Currently, 99% of community operators have less than five thousand associates and most of the current licenses for community television are concentrated in Cundinamarca (153), Antioquia (113), Santander (67) and Boyacá (53).
