Press Release: State aid: Commission rules subsidy for digital terrestrial TV (DVB-T) in Berlin-Brandenburg illegal; explains how digital TV can be supported

The European Commission on 9 November 2005 decided that subsidies worth some €4 million granted to commercial broadcasters for the use of the digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) network in the German Länder Berlin and Brandenburg violated EC Treaty state aid rules (Article 87(1)) because they were liable to distort competition. The Commission also decided that the subsidies, which had not been notified to the Commission, had to be paid back insofar as already paid over to broadcasters (about half the total). The European Commission’s decision included guidance for Member States on the possibilities to assist the digital switchover in ways that were compatible with EC Treaty state aid rules.

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