Catalan TV coverage of Brussels protest excessive, states electoral board

The Barcelona Electoral Board has denounced the Catalan TV coverage of last week’s 50,000 strong march in Brussels as excessive and has urged the channel in question, TV3, to compensate by giving more airtime to the Catalan People’s Party. Yet the public channel did not broadcast the event live, as it usually does with massive demonstrations. 

The rally, held on December 7, was in support of an independent Catalan state, as well as the release of imprisoned pro-independence leaders.

The Catalan Broadcasting Corporation has defended that, as well as covering the event, it also covered acts by other parties that are against independence. However, the electoral board has argued that newscasts of the “concert for the freedom of political prisoners” favoured pro-independence candidacies.

The electoral board has also asked the Spanish TV to compensate CUP for not showing its party political broadcast on December 5. 

The commercial on December 5 urged “freedom for political prisoners,” referring to the four pro-independence leaders in pre-trial jail, including Oriol Junqueras, the vice president of the deposed Catalan government. The Spanish public TV did not broadcast the CUP’s commercial, on the grounds that it was not sure whether its content was legal. The pro-independence candidacy accused the broadcaster of “working as a partial judge” after realized the Spanish TV had not broadcast the commercial.