“It is inevitable, in the current situation where there is no political balance in broadcasting – unless the BA changes its policy and makes sure that every radio and television station follow it – that AD has to have feasible access to broadcasting. Which is why it does not have any choice but to have its own television station,” Dr Vassallo told journalists yesterday at the beginning of a seminar in St Julian’s.

Along with six other groups or entities, AD had expressed an interest in obtaining a licence for a terrestrial television station when the BA issued a call for expressions of interest in 2003.

However, the BA had decided that before issuing further television and radio licences, it would first commission a feasibility study.

The feasibility study conducted by Grant Thornton and published on Monday, indicated that issuing new licences for nationwide radio and television stations “would not” be viable.

However, BA chairman Joseph Said Pullicino commented that the financial element was only “one of the elements” that the BA considers when issuing a call for applications.

Dr Vassallo said AD was confident that it would get a licence for a television station despite the other expressions of interest.

“Ever since the other parties were granted a licence for a television station, and every time we complained to the BA about the imbalance in broadcasting, the BA’s reply was that balance in broadcasting is reached by letting both parties do what they like.

“When we complained with the authority that this situation was not satisfactory since there was a third party, we were told various times that AD was at a disadvantage because we had not applied for a television station.

“They told us that if we applied for a television station licence, they would be obliged to give it to us ,” Dr Vassallo said.

He said that until last year, AD had not appeared in a political broadcast alongside the two main parties because it had been allotted only 12 minutes of airtime by the BA.

Dr Vassallo announced that the Maltese media “anomaly” would soon be raised in the European Parliament.

Asked by this newspaper whether the BA had indicated that it would not grant any more licences for television stations, the AD chairperson answered “quite the opposite”.

Replying to another question put by The Malta Independent on Sunday as to why AD had not applied in February 2001 when the BA had issued a call for applications, Dr Vassallo said that at that time they did not have the resources they have today.

“It was a surprise for those interested parties who attended the BA’s meeting on Monday (announcing the results of the study) that there was a call for applications in 2001 and that a licence was issued,” he revealed.

Indeed, as this newspaper reported last Sunday, the BA confirmed that a frequency had indeed been allocated to Telever, the sole applicant at the time.

Asked by The Malta Independent on Sunday whether AD would consider not applying for a television station if the other parties closed down their radio and television stations, Dr Vassallo said: “We will be ready to do what they do”.

He said that a television station owned by AD would be “balanced on its own” and would not be a party banner. “We will show the other parties the way forward.

“We will do as we did with radio – we do not have a radio for propaganda. There are people who do not know that Capital is owned by Alternattiva,” Dr Vassallo explained.

He also announced that if it is granted a television licence, AD would issue shares to the public in its broadcasting company. “We will be the first to offer public ownership,” Dr Vassallo said.