Chilean government adds amendments to digital TV law

Chile's government has submitted a series of observations on Chile's digital TV law, which was approved several weeks ago, according to the senate website.

The document presents observations on the correct functioning of the system including: the concept of pluralism, which is defined as "respect for social, cultural, ethnic, political and religious diversity, gender, sexual orientation and identity,"; the makeup of the national TV council (CNTV); programming times for broadcasting cultural content; and campaigns of public interest.

The observations also relate to local concessionaires, the prohibition of religious entities from being concessionaires for community TV channels, the powers of the national economic attorney's office, the use of spectrum and fines for concessionaires.

With regard to the CNTV, the government recommends allowing a broader range of candidates to be available for selection to reflect plurality in Chilean society.

Regarding cultural programming, the government takes issue with a semantic interpretation of "at least four hours" of cultural programs per week, eliminating the words "at least" to enforce the obligation.

The observations also seek to clarify the specifics of content and duration of campaigns of "public interest."