GEORGIA: MAESTRO TV GETS NATIONAL BROADCAST LICENSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 001235

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: GEORGIA: MAESTRO TV GETS NATIONAL BROADCAST LICENSE

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary/Comment: On July 3, the Georgian National
Communications Commission (GNCC) granted pro-opposition
Maestro TV's request for a ten-year satellite broadcasting
license. This license will allow Maestro to broadcast
nationwide. The decision was delayed for roughly a month by
the GNCC due to failure to gain a quorum to hold a binding
vote. Maestro TV news editor Natia Mikiashvili expressed her
satisfaction with the result to Poloff and said that Maestro
TV would start broadcasting their signal via satellite as
soon as it had sufficient funding. Mikiashvili said that she
did not anticipate any further regulatory problems and that
Maestro TV was negotiating with Turksat, a Turkish satellite
to provide service. The satellite license is another
positive step to promote a more pluralistic television media
environment throughout Georgia rather than in specific
enclaves. Maestro TV will almost assuredly find funding from
non-parliamentary opposition coffers to be up and running
quickly, though the immediate political impact will likely be
much less than non-parliamentary opposition leaders expect.
End Summary/Comment.

What This Means - In Concrete Terms


2. (C) As a result of the license, Maestro TV will be
available to all Georgians who want to receive its broadcasts
provided they purchase a satellite dish and receiver. The
cost of a dish, installation, and satellite broadcasts (which
carry Georgian, Turkish and some other local feeds for a term
of a year) is approximately 220-260 GEL (roughly 130-155 USD)
which puts it well within the budgets of the average Georgian
family. Maestro TV can now bypass cable providers who in
many cases did not carry Maestro TV's broadcasting as part of
their cable package. Maestro still faces the challenge of
reaching viewers who subscribe to regional cable TV, but in
principle Maestro programming should be widely available to
any Georgian who wants it.


3. (C) The non-parliamentary opposition has made the
Maestro satellite license a major issue and the granting of
the license would seem to ameliorate concerns about access to
non-governmental broadcast sources of information. Maestro
TV now must seek funding from independent sources to be able
to pay for the costs incurred by transmitting a satellite
signal. (Embassy Note: Mikiashvili puts the cost at roughly
USD 20,000 to set up the signal. End Note.) Maestro TV has
been funded by Nino Burjanadze in the past and will likely
solicit funds from non-parliamentary opposition leaders and
supporters to be able to broadcast nation-wide. In private,
non-parliamentary opposition leaders often mentioned granting
Maestro TV its satellite license as an example of something
within the GoG's control that could be done as a sign of good
faith. Over the weekend, the non-parliamentary opposition
has made little or no public comment on the license issue
probably meaning the non-parliamentary opposition does not
intend to use the event as an impetus to enter any sort of
larger dialogue with the GoG. Having been accused of
political bad faith for the delay in granting the license,
the GoG has also been muted on the issue, simply allowing the
news to stand on its own merit.
TEFFT