Nickelodeon suspended in Pakistan
November 1, 2016
By Chris Forrester
Kid’s channel Nickelodeon has seen its broadcasts “suspended” by Pakistan’s media regulator. The suspension took place on October 31st, reports BBC Monitoring.
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulation Authority (PEMRA) ruled two weeks ago that even those channels which were authorised to be carried by the country’s cable operators had to observe limits on Indian content. Nickelodeon is accused of carrying programming dubbed into Hindi, which is seen as being India’s language.
ARY Communications, which holds the “landing rights” licence for Viacom-backed Nickelodeon in Pakistan, has been informed of the decision to bar the channel from distribution in Pakistan. Local reports say the decision by PEMRA is being seen as a ‘tit-for-tat’ move by Pakistan amid suggestions that India has ruled against Pakistani content.
Nickelodeon India is owned by Viacom-18, and is based in Mumbai, India, and is also carried by cable operators in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives as well as Pakistan.