Broadcasting Council rejects Mega TV appeal to keep running

The National Broadcasting Council (ESR) on Tuesday rejected an appeal by the managing board of private television channel Mega to continue operating until a new TV license competition is held later this year.

Anticipating the decision, a crowd of Mega employees, many of whom have not been paid for the past 16 months, following the departure of the company's major shareholders, staged a protest outside ESR's Athens offices.

ESR is expected to forward the decision to the National Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) and to the digital platform Digea, paving the way for the channel to go off the air.