Greek government plans major overhaul of TV licensing

ATHENS - Greece's leftwing government has promised to overhaul the country's private TV licensing system in the next two weeks as part of reforms it says will target corruption.

Government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili said yesterday that draft legislation for the new process will be submitted to parliament this week, despite objections from channel owners who say the government is seeking to gain too much supervisory authority.

Private TV channels first launched 25 years ago but have never operated under a full licensing process, largely due to long-running political disputes over oversight rules.

An auction for new 10-year licenses is expected next year and will exclude companies in tax arrears and with major state contracts — a provision the government argues will stop media owners applying political pressure to win public works deals.