Hyderabad : The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has slapped a notice and sought explanations from multi-system operators (MSOs) in Telangana regarding blocking of news channels TV9 and ABN Andhra Jyothy.
Earlier, the two leading News channels in AP market were crying foul about the high handedness of the new Telangana Government by forcing the MSOs to switch off the signals by personally calling and threatening them over the phone. The dispute is related to the news materials carried in these news channels after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. The New Telangana government is targeting these new channels specifically because the owners of these channels are from Seemandra, Hence, doubting their motive against the people of Telangana.
TRAI has asked the MSOs to clarify by 11 August whether the two channels were blocked on their network and how they were in compliance of the regulation while doing so. The Telangana MSO Association had in June decided to switch off the two Telugu news channels for their alleged anti-Telangana stand.
Fighting against the cowered act of Telangana Government both the channels are fighting against the ban by approaching I & B ministry to intervene and parallely took the legal root of approaching TRAI.
The two news channels were blocked for a couple of days. “It is brought to the notice of the authority that cable TV operators providing services in the state of Telangana have blocked the TV channel namely TV9 and ABN Andhra Jyothy from 16th June 2014,” read the TRAI notice to MSOs.
The authority further stated that the regulatory framework stipulates that no cable TV service provider switch off signals of a broadcaster without giving a three weeks’ notice and specifying the reason for disconnection. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had also sought a report from the Telangana government on the blocking of the channels following complaints by the managements of TV9 and ABN Andhra Jyothy
It is unfortunate that the political decision of bifurcation of a state is spelling doom to business establishments.
