Catalan TV services fall victim to austerity drive
TV3 station's budget to be slashed by 13 percent as part of premier Mas' deficit-reduction measures
Catalonia has extended its austerity drive to the Catalan-language public television company TV3, whose budget for next year is being cut by 13 percent, or 40 million euros.
TV3 will have to close two of its six channels and stop broadcasting soccer games. It also faces the challenge of eliminating a deficit in its books of 21 million euros.
Earlier this week, Catalan premier Artur Mas announced spending cuts and tax hikes for next year to save a total of one billion euros as the region seeks to meet its deficit-reduction target of 1.3 percent of GDP. These measures will come on top of cuts this year in spending on education and health, which sparked protests.
Meanwhile, a Barcelona court ordered the regional government to reinstate eight workers who were sacked earlier this year as part of the austerity drive.
