The provider won approval for the change from the National Audiovisual Council of Romania (www.cna.ro) November 13, following its acquisition of licenses from CNA for the documentary channels DigiWorld (www.digi-world.tv) and DigiLife (www.digi-life.tv) in September, and for Digi Animal World in October. Several council members expressed concern that RCS &RDS would remove competing channels such as Discovery and National Geographic, according to press agency Mediafax (www.mediafax.ro).
Discovery officials have complained that in Hungary the local cable operator of RCS & RDS also removed the Discovery Channel from analog and digital broadcasts. The re-broadcasting contract between Discovery and RCS & RDS in Romania ends November 30.
The provider has defended its actions, arguing that Discovery Channel costs three times what similar channels do, but scores only a 1% rating. On November 27, the government amended the Audiovisual Law, requiring cable operators to inform consumers about schedule changes in advance.
BUCHAREST: The move by TV and internet market leader RCS & RDS (www.rcs-rds.ro) to remove the Discovery Channel (www.dsc.discovery.com) from its offerings on 23 November 2012, without informing its audience, has prompted a law preventing similar cut-offs.
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Romania
