Colombia. Following protests by all public television operators in Colombia, the National Government decided to withdraw the bill that contemplated abolishing and liquidating the ANTV and distributing the other competences in the field of television and sound broadcasting.
In a letter sent by the Regional and National Public Television channels: Canal Capital, Canal Trece, Canal TRO, Teleantioquia, Telecafé, Telecaribe, Teleislas, Telepácifico and RTVC, they pointed out that the modifications made to the project initially presented by the MINISTRY of ICT on October 17, 2017.
In its communication, public TV highlighted that these modifications impact the resources for public television as follows:
• Fontv resources are used to meet one hundred percent of the institutional cost of the new entity.
• The Mín TIC project included the possibility of periodic transfers from FONTIC to FONTV to contribute to the financing of public television. This proposal, however, was not taken into account in the presentation for the first debate.
• A compensation rate of maximum 1.96% of the gross income of the providers with an enabling title is established, which could reduce by more than 60% the value of the contribution of the closed television in the FONTV. In this sense, the original project calls for the resources of both funds to be maintained and thus protect the resources of public television.
• The percentage of consideration referred to in the preceding paragraph is not the product of a sectoral and market economic study; the presentation for the first debate, without reason or technical support, eliminated the possibility included in the Mintic project to carry out a study to determine the value of the consideration.
The channels concluded that the result of approving this project is the probable disappearance of Public Television, due to a decrease of $123 billion pesos (only for 2019) with a greater decrease each year.
In its request for withdrawal from the project, the TC Ministry, in accordance with the arguments of public TV, said that the power that was going to be discussed threatens the public television industry in Colombia.
