ATHENS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Greece's broadcasting regulator, the National Council of Radio and Television (NCRTV), announced on Wednesday the names of the five local media groups which will receive broadcasting licenses following a tender launched last year.
Epsilon TV, SKAI, ANT1, Alpha TV and Star will now have to pay 35 million euros (40.7 million U.S. dollars) each for one 10-year nationwide broadcasting license, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.
"The decision NCRTV announced today closes the process in the most positive manner for public interest and democracy," Lefteris Kretsos, Deputy Minister of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Information commented in an e-mailed statement.
It is the first time in three decades that Greek private television channels will pay fees to the state for broadcasting.
Since the end of the state's monopoly in television broadcasting in 1989, all private TV channels, including the five which won the tender, were on air without proper licenses.
The Greek government had tried to regulate the broadcasting sector also in 2016. However, the first tender was annulled when the country's top administrative court deemed the first license law unconstitutional, because the process was not overseen by the independent broadcasting regulator. (1 euro = 1.16 U.S. dollars) Enditem
