From digital switchover to austerity measures: A case study of the cypriot television landscape

In April 2013 Cyprus and the Troika (the European Commission, the EuropeanCentral Bank and the International Monetary Fund) reached an agreement aimedat addressing the country’s financial imbalances by leading the Island through aseries of austerity measures. This article addresses the Cypriot digital televisionlandscape three years following digital switchover (DSO) and currently in the midstof austerity measures. The article draws on long-term historical analyses combinedwith discourse analysis of current policy decisions, media coverage and expert interviewswith the main stakeholders. It is divided into five sections. The first situatesthe case study within an appropriate theoretical framework. The second sheds lighton Cyprus’ turbulent history and how it has affected the development of the mediasectors. Next, it offers an overview of digital television in Cyprus and highlightshow the main players had positioned themselves in the market before the countrysunk into a deep recession. The fourth section underlines the financial crisis and theresulting austerity measures that have affected Cyprus, especially since 2012/2013.In the fifth and final section, the work focuses on the current situation, payingparticular attention to how political and market-driven agendas have collided, withthe example of the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform Velister.