Colombia. Given the national quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colombian Government provided, through Decree 516 of April 4, 2020, new measures for the provision of the broadcast open television service in the national territory.
The Decree adds a second paragraph to article 33 of Law 182 of 1995, as amended by article 4 of Law 680 of 2001, in which only for the duration of the state of economic, social and ecological emergency establishes new minimum percentages of programming of national production, which must be met quarterly by national open television channels, as follows:
From 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (triple A), the national programming will be 20%.
From 22:30 hours to 24:00 hours, the national programming will be 20%.
From 00:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., programming will remain 100% free.
From 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. the national production schedule will be 20%.
On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays the percentage of minimum national production will correspond to 20% in triple A hours.
Additionally, regional channels and local stations broadcast nationally produced programming will be modified to 20% of the total programming.
"In any case, the broadcast of newscasts will remain in the same conditions and proportion carried out by national, regional channels and local stations on the date of the declaration of the economic, social and ecological emergency," says the same standard.
As a measure to guarantee public television, especially regional television, essential to keep all Colombians informed, promote culture and national identity, Decree 516 also adds a second paragraph to Article 35 of Law 1341 of 2009, modified by Article 22 of Law 1978 of 2019, which contemplates that only for the duration of the state of economic emergency, Social and ecological, the operators of the regional television service will be able to allocate for operation up to 20% of the strengthening resources they receive from the Single ICT Fund.
Disagreement of the acting guild
The Colombian Association of Actors, Aca, expressed its disagreement with this decree that changed the national screen quota, established at 70% in triple A hours from Monday to Friday and 50% on weekends.
In one of the parts of their communication, they point out that "instead of encouraging the presentation of national products even if they are repetitions, taking into account that there are a significant number of series, telenovelas and documentaries that have already been shown on national television and some that have not been presented, as well as more than 170 films that have been released in the last 10 years, the majority with very little attendance of public in the rooms and that are enough material to fill the programming grids of the public and private channels of the regional and national order while the isolation lasts".
They added that "Those who drafted this decree demonstrate their ignorance about the dynamics of the audiovisual market, because apparently they ignore that with this determination they close the possibility that there is an income for librettists, directors and actors on behalf of the Right of Public Communication, in these times that there is no work since production stopped."
