Italian parliament votes against decree to save Rete 4

The new Italian government suffered its first major defeat on May 27, after parliament blocked a decree that would have allowed the Rete 4 TV channel to keep its analogue frequencies instead of being forced to distribute its signals via satellite.

The opposition considers the bill as an open attempt to save Rete 4 by bypassing a European Court of Justice sentence that recognised the right of Italian broadcaster Centro Europa 7 to the frequency used by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s TV holding Mediaset. Since the number of frequencies is limited, Rete 4 would have to leave it, losing an important spot in the national broadcasting system and a substantial number of viewers.

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