# Sponka.tv > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sponka.tv > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sponka.tv.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponka.tv > Source revision: 1329756317 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Sponka.tv** is a [Slovenian](/source/Slovenia) regional television station most notable for the Frequency Controversy it was involved in from 2003 to 2010. It broadcasts in the regions of [Koper](/source/Koper),[1] [Sežana](/source/Se%C5%BEana) and [Nova Gorica](/source/Nova_Gorica). Sponka.tv was born as a Cable TV channel, and has only been broadcasting on terrestrial TV since 2003. ## Programmes The station broadcasts mostly local news, local sports, and music, as well as advertisement and [pornographic](/source/Pornography) films at late night. It claims to be the voice of the culture and the people of the Slovenian Littoral. ### Programme Controversy The programming is not without controversy. For example, the pornographic films are broadcast too early, starting at 22:00, even though Slovenian law prohibits their broadcast at that kind of time. In addition, the music broadcast by the station is mostly Balkan (Serbian [turbofolk](/source/Turbofolk)) which has nothing to do with the Slovenian Littoral. ## Frequency Controversy The station is controversial,[2][3][4] because it transmits, from the local repeater of [Tinjan](/source/Tinjan,_Slovenia), near the town of [Koper](/source/Koper), on the [Slovenian Littoral](/source/Slovenian_Littoral), on the channel [UHF](/source/UHF) 52. However, in the same area, on the same channel, transmits, from the repeater of [Conconello](/source/Conconello) in [Trieste](/source/Trieste) (but also receivable on the same frequency from the repeaters of [Monte Madonna](/source/Monte_Madonna) ([Teolo](/source/Teolo)) in [Padua](/source/Province_of_Padua), [Prati della Chiesa](/source/Prati_della_Chiesa) ([Pedrosa](/source/Pedrosa)) [Udine](/source/Udine), and [Monte San Michele](/source/Monte_San_Michele) ([Sagrado](/source/Sagrado)) in [Gorizia](/source/Gorizia)),[5] the Italian private channel [Italia Uno](/source/Italia_1), which is the most watched channel by the youths of both Italy, and the Slovenian Littoral. ### Beginning The controversy began in late 2003 when Sponka.TV got the license to broadcast on [UHF](/source/UHF) 52 from Tinjan. According to known sources, this was done because the European Commission told Slovenia to turn on anything at all on that channel in order to reclaim it. The wills of the people in the transmitter's target area were not considered at all. At the first the channel's signal was relatively week but its strength kept increasing. The first complaints also appeared in social media around then.[2] In addition, the station's director, [Neda Gerželj](/source/Neda_Ger%C5%BEelj), engaged in [defamatory](/source/Defamation) practices against the [Italian Republic](/source/Italian_Republic) on the same social media. Already then, however, the raison d'etre of the station's terrestrial frequency was called into question by the local population because according to contemporary Slovenian law, a cable-only station was not allowed to start terrestrial transmissions, putting into question the validity of the station's license. ### Frequency war In addition, Italia Uno was then the most watched channel in the Slovenian littoral and might therefore have been deemed unwanted competition. Other big commercial Italian channels were also targets of the so-called [Frequency war](/source/Frequency_war), for example most frequencies of [Canale 5](/source/Canale_5), Italia Uno's sister channel, were covered too, as were those of the second sister channel, [Rete 4](/source/Rete_4). [La7](/source/La7) (formerly [Telemontecarlo](/source/Telemontecarlo)) and [MTV Italia](/source/MTV_Italia) (formerly [Videomusic](/source/Videomusic)) were also subject to interferences, however so were also the Slovenian [POP TV](/source/POP_TV) and [Kanal A](/source/Kanal_A), subject to interferences from the Italian side (though the Italians were the first to broadcast on those frequencies). There was also a mysterious fire at the [Conconello](/source/Conconello) transmitter around the same time, which damaged the transmission equipment of [Telefriuli](/source/Telefriuli), causing it to reduce the strength of its signal, limiting its availability on Slovenian territory. The causes for that fire have to this day not been established, and the possibility it was a Slovenian [terrorist attack](/source/Terrorist_attack) against the transmitter exists. ### Temporary stop In around 2005, the situation came to a temporary stop, as the signal of **Sponka.TV** on [UHF](/source/UHF) 52 disappeared, leaving Italia Uno visible with a clear picture again. The complaints subsided and the situation returned to normal. Sponka.TV resumed its broadcasts on Cable TV. The reasons for that are to this day unknown, and most people at the time thought the channel simply gave up and desisted. However, that would soon prove false. ### Resumption The crisis resumed when **Sponka.TV**'s signal returned and Italia Uno disappeared again. Complaints from the local population flared up again but were again ignored. Eventually, the signal's strength was increased again. Soon, the channel also turned on a second frequency, [UHF](/source/UHF) 30 from [Ankaran](/source/Ankaran)-[Hrvatini](/source/Hrvatini), making it impossible to receive [La7](/source/La7) (formerly [Telemontecarlo](/source/Telemontecarlo)) in some places. And, just like [UHF](/source/UHF) 52, the signal on [UHF](/source/UHF) 30 also interfered on Italian territory. In addition, the channel's broadcasts were also detected on [UHF](/source/UHF) 34 in [Divača](/source/Diva%C4%8Da), possibly from [Sežana](/source/Se%C5%BEana), without any license, whatsoever, and it eventually also obtained frequencies on a transmitter north of [Nova Gorica](/source/Nova_Gorica), again without license. ### Apparent end Since December 2010, the controversy has become moot as Italy and Slovenia have both switched off the analog signals, and the digital multiplex inside which Italia Uno is located is on channel [UHF](/source/UHF) 49 (between 2010 and 2012 on [UHF](/source/UHF) 36), and was never on Sponka.TV's [UHF](/source/UHF) 34. However, for a while, [UHF](/source/UHF) 52 and [UHF](/source/UHF) 30 both kept transmitting in analog even after the switch off for unknown reasons, interfering with a [Mediaset](/source/Mediaset) [pay TV](/source/Pay_TV) multiplex on [UHF](/source/UHF) 52 and a [RAI](/source/RAI) [state TV](/source/State_TV) multiplex on [UHF](/source/UHF) 30. Also, Sponka.TV started an expansion without license, as it became hosted in [ViTel TV](/source/ViTel_TV)'s multiplex in Nova Gorica, on [UHF](/source/UHF) 34 (same frequency Sponka.TV's own multiplex broadcasts on from [Ankaran](/source/Ankaran)-[Hrvatini](/source/Hrvatini)). This and the station's previous actions make it possible that it was all along interested in nothing but aggressive expansionism in the aether. In December 2011 Sponka.tv has also begun transmitting via [DTT](/source/Digital_terrestrial_television) on channel UHF 34 (Multiplex L5) from the transmitter of [Ankaran](/source/Ankaran).[6] ### Reasons for the controversy Due to Sponka.tv's signal interfering with that of Italia Uno, at some locations to the point of Sponka.tv completely replacing Italia Uno, several requests have been forwarded to the direction of Sponka.tv, requesting them to cease, and desist, their transmissions from Tinjan, or at least, to move them onto some other frequency. Sponka.tv's direction, however, dis-missed the requests completely. The controversy is important, because Sponka.tv doesn't interfere with Italia Uno only on the Slovenian territory, but also on the Italian territory, hence, why the owners of Italia Uno, [Silvio Berlusconi](/source/Silvio_Berlusconi)'s [Mediaset](/source/Mediaset), themselves, also requested Sponka.tv to do something about the issue already,[3][4] yet, Sponka.tv still refuses to comply with the given requests, giving the 1961 agreement between Italy, and Yugoslavia, in which, the channel UHF 52 was assigned to Yugoslavia, as their reason not to do so. However, Yugoslavia, and later, Slovenian, never used the channel until the advent of Sponka.tv in 2003, hence, why Mediaset used the channel for Italia Uno. The channel has also been assigned to Italy for after 2012, for use in [DTT](/source/Digital_terrestrial_television) broadcasting. Another reason for the controversy is that the program is from [Portorož](/source/Portoro%C5%BE), yet its intended area of terrestrial coverage only includes the town of [Koper](/source/Koper) and its surroundings, while [Portorož](/source/Portoro%C5%BE) is not even considered. ## External links - [Sponka.tv website](http://www.sponka.tv) ## Notes 1. [OTG TV](http://www.otgtv.it/lista.php?code=TS99&posto=San%20Dorligo%20della%20Valle) 1. [Tabla pogovorov :: Splošno :: Re: Zakaj ne vidim Italia 1](http://obala.net/pogovori/messages/index.php?thread_page=0&agora=5.6184) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150128115528/http://www.obala.net/pogovori/messages/index.php?thread_page=0&agora=5.6184) 2015-01-28 at the Wayback Machine 1. [La voce del popolo](http://www.edit.hr/lavoce/2007/070606/slovenia.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110522202515/http://www.edit.hr/lavoce/2007/070606/slovenia.htm) 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine 1. [TV e frontiera, un caso triestino](http://www.italradio.org/portale/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=908) 1. [OTG TV](http://www.otgtv.it/lista.php?code=SL99&posto=Pirano) 1. [APEK](http://dvb-t.apek.si/multipleks_l5) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sponka.tv](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponka.tv) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponka.tv?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.