Press Release: State aid: Commission prohibits planned subsidies for digital terrestrial TV in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The European Commission has decided that German plans to finance part of the fees commercial broadcasters pay for the transmission of their programs on the digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) network in the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia are not compatible with the EC state aid rules. The Commission fully supports the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. However, the proposed measures fail to identify properly the problem that requires state aid, and to choose appropriate and non-discriminatory means of funding.