Lebanon clamp down on cable piracy
May 5, 2015
By Chris Forrester
The Lebanon’s Economy Minister, Alain Hakim has ruled that the country’s cable operators must pay to carry the nation’s eight major TV channels.
The eight broadcasters are widely carried by the region’s satellite operators but Lebanon’s cable MSOs must now charge viewers extra for what has been traditionally ‘free’ viewing. The eight TV networks are Tele Liban, Future TV, LBCI, al-Jadeed, al-Manar, OTV, MTV (which is not the music channel), and NBN.
Cable MSOs who fail to observe the new rules will be prosecuted, say the authorities.
The cable operators themselves are generally unlicensed and have for many years pirated the MENA region’s pay-TV broadcasters.
Lebanon’s government says that a fee to viewers of (about) $4 a month would be levied.