Pakistan stops issuing satellite licences
August 2, 2011
By Chris Forrester
Pakistan’s media regulator PEMRA says it has stopped issuing new transmission licences to satellite channels, citing “saturation” and revision of its former policies. Pakistan’s broadcasting minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told MPs that PEMRA has so far issued eighty-seven such licences since 2003.
She added that PEMRA has not issued any licence to Indian or Indian content channels. At present, twenty-three private entertainment satellite TV channels are telecasting Indian programming. She said under terms and conditions of the licence, ten per cent foreign content is permitted on all private satellite TV channel licensees.
Dr Awan said that Pemra permitted the re-transmission of 15 TV channels on the Internet, and four on cellular mobiles.