PEMRA Suspends NEO TV’s Licence
PEMRA stated that NEO TV was suspended because they had not complied with the licence terms - the original licence was for entertainment programmes.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) suspended NEO TV’s licence on Wednesday after the show-cause notice period expired; it seems that NEO TV’s news broadcasting was not allowed by the media watchdog.
PEMRA stated that the reason for the suspension is that NEO TV has not complied with the licence terms and conditions – the original licence obtained by Fun Infotainment Pvt Ltd NEO TV was for airing entertainment programmes only. However, NEO TV has aired news and current affairs content, as well as ignored any directives and/or notices by PEMRA.
PEMRA’s statement
Authority had directed NEO TV to stop violation of licence category by airing news and current affairs programmes (which amounts to contravening the PEMRA laws) and revert back to its approved programming content that is entertainment programming in accordance with the terms and conditions of the licence.
NEO TV and PEMRA’s History
NEO TV challenged PEMRA soon after the channel’s launch in 2015 to demand that the regulator change its category from entertainment to news and current affairs. PEMRA maintained the whole time that their official policy did not allow them to do that.
The case was dismissed by the Islamabad High Court in March 2020 – meaning that PEMRA’s decision was upheld. After waiting a month, PEMRA once again asked NEO TV to air only the programmes that were permitted by the licence. The final order was issued on April 28, in case NEO TV did not revert back to the original content within 1 week.
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