Bogota, Jul 30 (EFE).- The scheduled auction for a license to operate Colombia's third private nationwide television channel has been suspended for the third time in less than a year by the National Television Commission, or CNTV.
The regulator's board of directors made the decision to postpone the auction, CNTV director Eduardo Osorio said, noting that the suspension will be in effect until appeals filed over alleged irregularities in the process have been resolved.
Osorio announced the decision after the members of the board of directors of CNTV, the organizer of the auction, had met for several hours.
Also taking part in the meeting were attorneys from other television channels that stand to be affected by the new license and a representative of the Inspector General's Office, which oversees the conduct of public officials and the correct functioning of government institutions and agencies.
On Tuesday, the television regulator had announced in a brief statement the postponement of the auction, which had been scheduled for that same day. But it said the panel overseeing the process asked for "two additional days to present its definitive evaluation report."
The auction for the license of the third nationwide channel has been delayed and suspended three times in recent months due mainly to complaints from Venezuelan media magnate Gustavo Cisneros and the local unit of Spanish media conglomerate Grupo Prisa, which have withdrawn from the process citing an alleged lack of legal certainty.
Their withdrawals left Spanish communications and publishing group Planeta as the sole bidder.
In making the announcement Thursday, Osorio criticized the two private nationwide channels currently operating in Colombia and insinuated that they are trying to shut out competition.
"This project has generated a great deal of opposition from market players that want to maintain exclusivity," Osorio said.
CNTV's director was alluding to Caracol TV and RCN TV, which have staunchly opposed a third private nationwide channel and have denounced through their attorneys an alleged lack of objectivity and transparency in the bidding process.
The Council of State, Colombia's highest judicial-administrative body, last week ordered the temporary suspension of the auction on the grounds that it could not go forward with a single bidder.
On Monday, Colombia's inspector general, Alejandro Ordoñez, said that the CNTV should postpone the auction for the sake of "prudence."
He added, however, that the importance for Colombia of having a third private television network should be "reason enough" for the Council of State to reconsider its objections to the single-bidder auction.
In January, a month after Cisneros and Prisa had withdrawn from the process the first time, the IG's office had called for the auction to be suspended citing alleged technical and economic flaws in the process.
The CNTV heeded that request, although it said it disagreed with the IG office's reasoning in recommending that the process be suspended.
The IG office last month informed CNTV that the conditions for continuing with the auction were in place even with a single bidder and that technical and economic flaws detected earlier had been overcome.
Osorio said Thursday that it is "very important" for the public "to be aware of the objectives that inspired the beginning and the development of this process."
He cited among other arguments the growth in "media pluralism," better quality of content, healthy market competition, access to better tools for education and entertainment and job creation.
Osorio told reporters that considering those aims it is "incomprehensible" that, despite the benefits of a third nationwide channel, those who regard the auction as unwanted competition "have forgotten the principle that the general interest should prevail over special interests."
President Alvaro Uribe said last weekend his administration respects the decision of the Council of State and that the awarding of the concession may have to wait until after the Aug. 7 inauguration of his successor, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos.
