Why Blackout Of Satellite TV Channels?

Foreign satellite television channels were not available for viewers in most areas of Dhaka and Chittagong as some cable network distributors went on a wildcat strike in protest against an information ministry order for no further downloading of 13 pay channels including the most popular Star Sports, ESPN and TEN Sports by them. The allegation against the distributors is serious. They are charged with downloading the popular pay channels without the government permission and also depriving the exchequer of a huge amount of revenue. The contention of the charge goes further to the extent that the money so illegally earned is sent abroad through hundi (a backdoor means for money laundering). What is however intriguing is that the Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) had earlier brought this issue to the notice of the information ministry before it issued the order.

Now the question is, what was the information ministry doing so long if the distributors were doing business illegally? Why the COAB has to bring the matter to its notice? Anyone can see that distribution of popular TV channels is a lucrative business and it must follow rules set by the government. Ordering the channels off the air all on a sudden is no solution. It is the viewers who pay for the channels on a monthly basis become the ultimate sufferers. No one – neither the cable operators/distributors nor the ministry – has any right to deprive them of their viewing right. It is not for the first time that the popular channels have gone off the air. Most of the time the channels are snapped during a much-awaited sports program as happened on Saturday during the Bangladesh-Zimbabwe cricket ODI.

What transpires from the statements made by the distributors and the operators is that their internal conflicts have led to this dead end. The ministry has totally failed to bring order in the chaotic situation prevailing in the area of cable TV channel operation. Sometimes the rivalry between contending groups for dealership of distribution has been the reason behind the non-availability of the popular channels. If there are clear-cut laws and rules for acquiring the right for distribution of channels, why should the situation be so complicated leading to such wholesale blackout?  The distributors and the operators are both to blame for this awful situation. Why should the subscribers of the pay channels suffer for no fault of their own? It is exactly at this point the information ministry’s role proves crucial. It must see to the matter that no one-carry business illegally and also is a cause for the subscribers’ suffering. To do, that it needs help from legal guidelines protecting the subscribers’ interests. In countries like Bangladesh such matters are at times left deliberately unattended because it suits corrupt officials best as they can line their pockets by taking advantage of the legal loopholes and flexibility. Laws were framed for controlling the telecast of foreign satellite channels. But the cable operators resent it as they allege the laws favor a particular coterie not them. We are of the opinion that the laws should favor none but the people of the country who are at the center of everything. If the laws needed amendment, it must be done soon enough with a view to protecting their rights and interests

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