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ISLAMABAD: Cable TV operators have warned of a complete blackout from Saturday noon in protest against countrywide raids by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on cable networks relaying Cricket World Cup matches by channels not authorised by the Supreme Court. The operators issued the warning at a press conference here on Friday night after Pemra raided 78 cable networks and seized their systems for allegedly relaying the matches from different channels and positioning Geo Super — the only private channel with rights to show the matches — at the end.
Before taking action, the authority gave a three-day warning to the cable operators through notices. The raids were conducted in all major cities, Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Quetta.
People are likely miss the crucial match between Pakistan and Australia starting at 2pm on Saturday if the dispute between Pemra and cable operators is not settled before noon.
“We did not violate any law. Pemra has requested cable orders to adjust the private channel (Geo Super) at the end. Now they (Pemra authorities) want it placed within top 25 channels. We have followed their instructions,” said Malik Hafeez, a coordinator of the Cable Operators Association.
The association’s former general secretary Babar Bhatti warned that cable operators would pull the plug on Saturday for 24 hours and the blackout could continue for an indefinite period if Pemra did not return the confiscated equipment.
In a statement issued on Friday, Pemra said it had acted against the cable operators following the Supreme Court decision on broadcasting rights of the ICC Cricket World Cup matches. “These cable networks were defying the court orders as well as rules laid down by Pemra.” The authority also warned of tough legal action under the Pemra Ordinance against the operators. Before the start of the Cricket World Cup, Pemra had announced that Geo Super had secured the exclusive cable and satellite broadcast rights to the biggest sporting event and warned other broadcasters in the country to refrain from telecasting action from the competition.
Pemra has received a list of about 100 cable operators across the country from the legal counsel of Geo Super accusing them of running illegal satellite channels showing the Cricket World Cup matches. He also informed Pemra about various cable networks involved in buffering and shuffling of the channel position of Geo Super in disregard of the court orders.
More than 2,500 cable networks are operating in the country.
