Pemra suspends NEO TV’s licence for ‘illegal’ news broadcast

Published May 7, 2020
Channel had obtained licence for airing entertainment programmes but since its inception aired news content. — PPI/File
Channel had obtained licence for airing entertainment programmes but since its inception aired news content. — PPI/File

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regu­latory Authority (Pemra) on Wednesday suspended the licence of NEO TV after the expiry of its show-cause notice period as the transmissions by the channel were found to be illegal.

Pemra has said that due to the non-compliance of licence terms and conditions and the orders of the authority, Pemra suspended the licence given to M/s Fun Infotainment Pvt Ltd NEO TV with immediate effect.

The channel had obtained a licence only for airing entertainment programmes but since its inception, the management used to air news and current affairs content, ignoring Pemra’s directives and notices to abide by the agreement.

“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,” the statement issued by Pemra said.

However, NEO TV challenged the directives of Pemra at the Islamabad High Court soon after its launch in 2015 and demanded that the authority change the category from entertainment to news and current affairs, but Pemra maintained that the official policy did not permit it.

The case was dismissed in March 2020 by the Islamabad High Court which upheld Pemra’s decision.

After the delay of around one month, Pemra directed NEO TV to revert to its original content and final determination order was issued on April 28 if the channel did not revert to its approved programming within one week.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Green tokenism
Updated 08 Jul, 2025

Green tokenism

Climate decisions must be based on facts, not politics — guided by independent science and open to public scrutiny.
Cotton decline
08 Jul, 2025

Cotton decline

PAKISTAN’S cotton economy is in a crisis. Production has fallen from a peak of 14m bales 10 years ago to 5.5m ...
Pet problems
08 Jul, 2025

Pet problems

PAKISTANIS’ obsession with exotic pets keeps ending in tragedy. Incidents like the recent lion attack in a Lahore...
No preparedness
Updated 06 Jul, 2025

No preparedness

With frequency of calamitous weather events increasing, the country cannot afford to be in denial after every tragedy.
Saarc’s future
Updated 07 Jul, 2025

Saarc’s future

South Asia’s vast potential cannot be held hostage forever by India.
PSB’s waning authority
06 Jul, 2025

PSB’s waning authority

IT has been two decades since the National Sports Policy was introduced but its implementation leaves much to be...