The 19 April it will be the day of truth. In 40 days the suspension of the procedure on the assignment of digital television frequencies decided by the Minister of the Economy Corrado Passera expires. According to the most malicious, the trust enjoyed by the Monti government in Parliament is even based on an agreement between the technicians and the former Berlusconi government precisely on the beauty contest. In fact, rumors are already starting that the PDL would be ready to dishearten the Professor if he were to backtrack on the gift of frequencies.
Behind-the-front – If Passera does not change the rules during construction on April 19, the jury of the contest should decide who to entrust, free of charge, the different lots for digital television frequencies. Rai and Mediaset would be awarded free of charge the most valuable channels, the single-frequency ones (55 UHF and 58 UHF). The other competitors Rtl, Virgin, Prima Tv, H3g, Discovery and RCS will compete for lot A, while lot C of the DVB-H frequency would appear to be destined for Telecom Italia Media, owner of La7 and MTV. According to the expert engineer of frequencies Antonio Sassano, this solution "violates the principles of service and technology neutrality" and further favors the concentration of the sector.
Repentance of Sky – The tender for the Beauty Contest was approved by the EU Commission with the express purpose of freeze the infringement procedure opened by Europe against Italy in 2006 accused of too much concentration on the television market. So much so that the tip of the balance had been the introduction of Sky TV to the contest, which would have guaranteed the opening of the contest to more competitors. But in November Sky, that in the event that it had obtained some frequencies, it would not have been able to use its pay channels on them for the first 5 years - which for many analysts would have proved to be quite onerous - , accusing the jury of favoring the two Italian giants, she withdrew from the (non) competition. So it is very probable that, auction or no auction, European sanctions will fall on Italy.
Flounder solution – Hence the question of the free assignment of these frequencies. Minister Passera seems determined not to want to grant them free of charge. According to reports from Mf, the Minister, together with the president of the Communications Authority (Agcom) Corrado Calabrò, would favor a reformulation of the announcement which would convert it into a public auction. But it would be necessary to submit the solution again to the Council of State and to the EU Commission and the times would be extended by several months. This was confirmed by the undersecretary for the economy Roberto Polillo two days ago on Tg3: "Perhaps the government will review the tender procedures for TV frequencies".
To pay or not to pay – The issue is controversial. First it should be noted that no other country in Europe has never auctioned television frequencies – very different from telephone ones because they must then be filled with content whose editorial cost is obviously the most substantial investment for the company. But often a fee was requested instead in exchange, and it is on this point that even Monti does not want to give in to pressure from Mediaset. As Laura Rovizzi suggests in an interesting article on FIRSTonline, however, the solution is not to hold a public auction, but rather to reformulate the criteria of the contest and bind companies to greater investments and quality requirements. And yet according to the most realistic assessments the auction would bring between a few tens of millions of euros up to 2,4 billion in the state coffers: it is therefore understandable that a technician, called to bring Italy out of the crisis, does not want to miss the opportunity to replenish the treasury coffers.
Mediaset – But this option is not liked by the president of Mediaset, Fedele Confalonieri, who has threatened harsh layoffs if his company does not get the frequencies. Also according to what Mf reports, Passera would be willing to compromise with Confalonieri: that is, to drastically reduce the starting price, trying in this way not to displease anyone.
Deadlines and renewals – However, there are two other tasks that can change the balance created so far. On the one hand the The RAI Board of Directors will expire on 28 March and it will be necessary to proceed with the appointment of the new president, general manager and member of the board of directors. Il Fatto Quotidiano is already starting to insinuate a possible exchange of favors for which Berlusconi would be ready not to interfere in the new appointments for the general management in exchange for being assigned without having to wait too long. Furthermore May 16 will be the turn of the replacement in Agcom and the first names about Calabrò's possible successors are already starting to circulate. Even this change in the Authority could bring further slowdowns to the long and troubled beauty contest.
