Greece launches private TV tender amid controversy

Eight groups are vying for the four 10-year nationwide licenses, with opening bids starting at three million euros ($3.4 million).

Their representatives will be locked up in an office building with no outside communication until the process is complete, a move prompting angry protests from TV managers.

Authorities say they want to clean up an industry known for workforce exploitation and rumored under-the-table deals between media moguls, bankers and influential politicians, while bringing an end to 25 years of chaotic licensing.

Government officials have noted that ever since private TV broadcasts began in Greece, channels have been allowed to operate on provisional licenses renewed 15 times since 1995.

And a contract for Greece’s digital TV provider was concluded two years ago with just one contestant, they note.

But critics say the overhaul is merely a ploy by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to replace established TV barons, who have opposed his leftist Syriza party in the past, with others more to his liking.

Six of the eight groups participating in the auction have raised objections about the process.

The first private channel to hit the air in 1989, Mega, has already been eliminated from the tender over outstanding debts.

The first-ever tender is held under unprecedented security inside the state ministry of information in Athens.

The six-floor building was emptied of staff last week and bunk beds moved in for what looks to be a two-day process.