ITV

Tag: Pak cable

  • Indian channel ban: Pak cable operators threaten to black out local channels

    MUMBAI: The Pakistan cable operators are threatening to black out their national channels in protest against the government ban on Indian television channels.
    “We are saying so because of repeated demands by our clients to air Indian and other international channels,” IANS has quoted Cable-Operators Association of Pakistan (CAP) vice chairman Khaled Chaudhry as saying.
    Pakistan last month banned about 35 entertainment channels, among which 14 are Indian, including Sony Entertainment Television India and Star Plus. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) justified the decision saying it was a move to regulate satellite broadcasting in the country, Daily Times reported.
    The ban on Indian news channels has been in place ever since the Kargil war. Having already banned Indian channels, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) recently issued a warning to cable operators not to air Indian and other illegal channels.
    Now what has irked CAP is the fact that, cable operators who are not listed with Pemra have been allegedly airing the banned channels. Some Indian channels, Star Plus in particular, are the main source of revenues for the Pak cable operators.
    The IANS report also quotes a Pemra official as saying that, “We are also under tremendous pressure by Pakistani channels, which are our licensees, not to allow the Indian channels. According to the source, private channels like ARY, owned by an influential business house in Dubai, the GEO channel owned by Jang Group and others have asked Pemra to block Indian channels.”
    Cable operators in Pakistan have hinted the possibility of completely blacking out Pakistani channels, if the government failed to lift the ban on Indian channels soon.
    The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) last month, banned 35 foreign TV channels – many of which are Indian – in a move to regulate satellite broadcasting in the country, Daily Times reported.
    Vice-Chairman of Cable-Operators Association of Pakistan (CAP), Khalid Arain, said: “We have informed the government that we won’t wait longer than a month to see if the ban is lifted otherwise we’ll take extreme action.
    “We may stop showing Pakistani and other entertainment channels if the ban is not lifted.”
    Cable operators said they would wait for at least two more weeks to see if the issue would be settled.
    They said that they have suffered losses due to the ban as a majority of their clientele is addicted to the Indian channels and have withdrawn their subscriptions. 
    “In just a little over three weeks since the ban was imposed our revenues have dropped 50 percent,” Mr Arain said.
    The curbs were initially introduced by the government after a standoff in the relations between the neighbouring countries experienced four years ago.
    This would be the second time that cable operators would stop showing Pakistani channels in protest.
    In early 2003, cable operators temporarily boycotted telecasting CNN, BBC and Pakistani channels, ARY, Geo and Indus News as a protest against Pemra’s policies.

  • Pak cable ops call off strike

    MUMBAI: Pakistan cable operators called off their three day agitation on Tuesday evening, and have decided not to press for the resumption of transmission of banned channels in the country.
    ACable operators in Pakistan had gone on a week long agitation protesting the government’s ban on Indian satellite channels, which are very popular across the border.
    Operators across the country, owing allegiance to the All Pakistan Cable Operators Welfare Association, blacked out all foreign and local private channels in most parts of the country, but the government stuck to its stand saying that Indian channels would not be allowed. While operators showed only the four PTV channels, PTI reports said that the government was also considering revoking the licenses of cable ops who continued to resort to a blackout, as a punitive measure. Last evening, however, the operators called off their strike and resumed transmission of a number of channels to their viewers.
    According to the daily Dawn, a spokesman for the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority welcomed the step and said Pemra would help in the resolution of their “genuine” problems within the parameters of Pemra Ordinance and as per policy of the government. “We will facilitate between the channel providers and cable operators in determining rates for foreign channels and also ask Wapda and civic bodies to extend cooperation to cable operators,” a spokesman of the Authority said.
    While the cable ops have dropped the demand for resumption of transmission of banned Indian channels, accordingt to the Dawn, the associaton representing the cable ops has now outlined major problems including high rates of foreign channels available on decoders, difficulties in availing poles facilities of bodies like Wapda, the absence of a uniform policy of civic bodies and relay of ads on VCDs. Pemra is scheduled to hold a public hearing shortly on the issue of fixing rates of foreign channels, the Dawn says.