THIS IS HOW THE MESS WITH TELEVISION EVOLVED - THE SINFUL FIASCO OF 2010 AND THE INFLATION OF €10 million - Filenews 13/7 by Angelos Nikolaou
Today's debate and the turmoil surrounding the transition to high-definition television in Cyprus is not a sudden problem, but the chronicle of a foretold technological and business failure.
This is the accumulated result of wrong choices, political omissions and investment inaction that have been going on for about 15 years, bringing the country to the point of being left without free terrestrial television.
In order to understand the current situation, we must go back to 2010, during the AKEL government, when the operating model of digital terrestrial television was chosen. The then tender for the concession of the license (Velister) evolved into a thriller with an intense background, which had extensively occupied the headlines of the time.
During the auction, the process was temporarily suspended due to mutual complaints between the bidders, while the atmosphere was triggered by public reports of objections and legal appeals. In this conflictual setting, the price skyrocketed to absurd levels. As a result, the final bid reached €10 million, an amount more than ten times higher than the initial starting price, which was set at just €850,000.
This unreal financial burden was passed on to the market itself, creating a distorted model from the beginning. On this platform, the major television stations found themselves in a double and problematic role. They were both owners of the consortium and its main customers. At the same time, smaller television stations denounced unequal treatment and exclusions from time to time.
The system showed structural weaknesses from a very early age. The operating costs for the channels were unbearable, while viewers' complaints about poor quality and incomplete coverage of the signal were daily.
The most serious blow, however, was the absolute technological stagnation. For 15 whole years there was no substantial upgrade. Cyprus remained trapped in an outdated system, while the rest of the European countries were moving towards more modern solutions.
With the expiration of the previous license and Velister's insurmountable viability problems, the state was faced with a nightmarish danger. The definitive "black" on the screens and the termination of the free terrestrial television broadcast.
In order to avoid the deadlock and ensure the continuation of free television for the coming years, the state moved with urgent procedures, proceeding with a public consultation and a new tender to ensure free television for the next 15 years.
The result of the new process brings to the fore a new network provider (Hellas Sat). The new platform promises significantly improved image quality, wider geographical coverage and, most importantly, significantly lower costs for TV stations compared to the regime in force for the last fifteen years.
The current need for citizens to buy new set-top boxes or replace their very old TVs did not arise suddenly. It is the financial cost of a change that should have been made gradually years ago, and which consumers are now having to pay en masse due to the long-term negligence.
Parallel reopening of the previous platform
However, in order to soften the reactions and make it easier for the public, developments are running at a technical level. According to official information, the new platform (Hellas Sat) has made its own investment, in order to reopen the old Velister network for a transitional, parallel period of three months.
Therefore, citizens will be able to tune their receivers to the channels, on which they received until June 30, the previous platform. It is noted that new set-top boxes and television receivers are able to receive the signal of the previous platform.
This three-month window is considered decisive. At the moment, technical teams are working on solutions and proceeding with the configuration of the network. The aim is to make the final tuning of citizens' televisions to the signal of the new platform as easy, automatic and less technically demanding as possible for the public.
However, the essence remains. A problematic state and business choice of 2010 was left to its fate until it reached the brink. The state was forced to intervene to close a long-standing pending issue, and the bet now is whether the transition to the new era will be completed without further inconvenience for the Cypriot viewer.
