The operation of debt-laden Mega television, among the country’s first and most prominent private nationwide broadcasters, will continue until at least May 4, when a motion by the station’s management against a ruling by Greek National Council for Radio and Television will be considered by the Council of State (CoS), Greece’s highest administrative court.
The CoS has already issued a temporary stay of a decision by the council (ESR), the independent authority governing the broadcast sector in Greece, ordering the permanent suspension of Mega’s transmission rights.
Six out of nine ESR members voted to suspend Mega’s broadcast license on grounds that it did not participate in a tender for seven nationwide broadcast licenses, a process that expired in January 2018. A three-month extension to wind down operations has also expired, according to the decision handed down by the independent authority.
The most contentious portion of the ESR decision, however, was a judgment disputing the parent company’s (Teletypos) argument that the broadcaster is now a “thematic” channel, instead of a general interest broadcaster (which features live newscasts, for instance).
ESR said no application was ever submitted changing the broadcasters programming.
