The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has awarded One Vision consortium, consisting TV3, Setanta, Arqiva and Eircom, the digital terrestrial television (DTT) licence that was recently abandoned by Boxer DTT.
The One Vision consortium was the second-placed applicant for the DTT contracts, which were awarded last year.
“The Commission had sought confirmation from the group that they were interested in pursuing contract negotiations, following the decision of Boxer DTT Limited to withdraw their applications in recent weeks,” the BCI said.
“Today’s contract award is subject to the successful outcome of contract negotiations. The Commission will be actively engaging with the consortium in this regard over the course of the coming weeks.”
Two weeks ago it emerged the Boxer Consortium, which included Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp, had withdrawn its application for the three DTT Multiplex contracts, which were rewarded following a competition between a number of consortia last year.
In a statement, the BCI said that Boxer had decided to withdraw from the project citing “prevailing and anticipated economic circumstances, in addition to challenges in successfully concluding a contract with RTÉ Networks Limited, to the satisfaction of both parties, for the provision of transmission services.”
By John Kennedy
