Chile. As a unique and unprecedented event in the history of Chilean TV, the award of the first four digital concessions of local coverage with a community character, delivered by the National Television Council, CNTV, was qualified.
After the enactment of the Digital Television Law, in May 2014, the technical standards for analogue channels to migrate to digital were established, and a map of the 116 available digital frequencies was established, so that new television signals, whether national, regional, local and local of a community nature, can enter.
"The Network of Community Audiovisual Workers" of the city of Arica, "The Center for Communal Development" of the town of Peñaflor, Talagante and Isla de Maipo, the "Association of Audiovisualists Signal 3 La Victoria" and the "Association of Audiovisualists of Pichilemu" will have for the first time a concession to transmit their television content digitally.
"Chile requires more and greater pluralism, and better representativeness and inclusion of all sectors of society. With the entry of these four channels we give the initial go to a new television scenario for the country where all those who make television can have access, "said the president of the CNTV.
In the application process, which began in March 2017, applicants, through an application, had to specify the type of concession to which they wanted to apply, whether national, regional, local or local of a community nature.
Each applicant, at the time of competing, had to present a technical, financial project, legal background and the orientation of the programmatic contents to disseminate in their signals.
This process was carried out through a public tender, for this purpose in the localities advisory committees were created in television matters for each of the applicant communes.
First regional and local concessions
The CNTV received 161 requests for frequencies throughout Chile. Of these, SUBTEL approved 85 feasible frequencies for the transmission of free-to-reception television, which have already been called to public tender and are in the stage of content, legal and technical evaluation.
191 contestants presented their technical project and all the documentation required in the bases, applying 16 to national channels, 30 to regional channels, 23 to local channels, and 5 to local community channels.
Currently, new local television broadcasting concessions have already been awarded in the towns of La Ligua and Petorca, El Quisco, Quillota and La Calera, Casablanca and Villa Alemana.
On the other hand, there are 849 concessions of analog technology television that are already in the process of migrating to digital technology. To date, 91 applications for migration to digital technology have entered the CNTV, of which 74 digital concessions have been granted and the remaining 17 applications are awaiting approval of their technical project by SUBTEL.
