TV3
has filed a formal complaint with the European Commission against
publicly funded channels RTE and the Irish-language service TnaG,
alleging that their license-fee financing distorts fair competition.
It was the latest clash
of commercial broadcasters and state-aided public broadcasters in
Europe. Independent British broadcasters have made similar cases
against the BBC to the European Commission.
It was confirmed on
Wednesday that the DGIV, a Brussels watchdog agency headed by competition
commissioner Karel van Miert, is investigating the complaint from
the 8-month-old broadcaster.
A spokesman for TV3
in Dublin said the channel objected to the "distortive effects of
state aid being paid by the government to what they call the public
service broadcaster."
A letter of complaint
about the issue had been sent to the Director General IV (DG IV),
the bureau which deals with competition, by Rick Hetherington, TV3's
Chief Executive in January. TV3 alleges that RTE is using its licence
fee to boost its acquisition budget to £14 million while also receiving
substantial funding from the exchequer, which TV3 believes makes
it a case of anti-competitiveness.
TV3 argues that in an
acquisition war RTE has an unfair advantage. The station is also
basing its case on charges that RTE restricts its advertising and
editorial resources against them.
TV3 has a market share
of 5.3% but claims to have 9% of its target audience of 15 - 44
age group.
