EU approves funding for digital television
The European Commission has approved state aid to promote digital television in Slovakia. Following the EU Commission’s decision, the Slovak government in Bratislava can now support the rollout of digital television with state aid funded by taxpayers.
After an in-depth examination, the EU Commission concluded that the Slovak government’s support for digital television would not “cause excessive distortions of competition.” Since the measure in Slovakia also complies with EU state aid rules, the European Commission approved a total of seven million euros in funding last Wednesday.
EU approves funding for digital television
Date: 30/09/2026
The Slovak government’s plan is to run analogue and digital broadcasts in parallel during the transition to digital television, thereby making the switch easier and faster. Broadcasters will not complete the switch to digital transmission at the end of 2010, as originally planned, because sales of digital receivers in Slovakia remain very low. Apparently, public willingness to switch to digital programming is still rather limited. Therefore, Slovakia will introduce parallel analogue and digital broadcasts, which are to continue until the end of 2011. This will give the public more time to adjust to the new conditions and acquire the necessary equipment.
European Commission Vice-President Joaquín Almunia, who is responsible for competition policy, praised the Slovak government’s approach and called the measure “another step towards the digitisation of broadcasting in Europe.”
Christian Bathen
