Information Minister Hasan Mahmud on Sunday slammed the cable operators that have stopped the broadcasting of 17 ad-free foreign channels in Bangladesh, saying they will be charged with violation of rules.
“Seventeen TV channels, including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera and Animal Planet have clean feeds in Bangladesh but the cable operators have stopped airing them, and it’s considered as a violation of the condition of the licence. So, those who are violating the rules will be charged,” he said while talking to reporters at the secretariat.
Besides, he said, many cable operators are involved in "downlink" through piracy from foreign satellites, which is illegal.
Talking about the threat of the Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) to go on a movement after Monday, the minister said: “Talking about such movement is illogical. I hope no one will be involved in any kind of activity that goes against the country’s interests, and the government will not bow down to any pressure.”
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“We did not stop airing the programs of any channel and did not ask anyone to do so either. Bangladesh's sky is open and anybody can broadcast programs through their channels following the country’s law.
"According to the law, the foreign channels’ programs can be aired without ads, and many countries follow the law,” he said.
“We had given them enough time as we started talking about it two years ago and we took initiatives to implement the law earlier. If they want, they can sit with us but the main focus will be on compliance,” the minister added.
Mobile court drives to stop the transmission of foreign channels’ programs without clean feed will continue, he said.
