4 News Channels Taken Off Air By Cable Operators; YSRCP Accuses TDP Of Censorship
Four Telugu news channels – TV9, Sakshi TV, NTV, and 10TV – have been taken off the air by some cable TV operators in Andhra Pradesh by several cable TV operators since Friday night, reported The Indian Express. This is the second such instance since the Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) came to power in the state.
Reportedly, on June 6, just two days after the TDP came to power, cable operators briefly blocked the four news channels. While the state government denied issuing instructions to cable operators, the opposition YSR Congress Party alleged that the news channels were “illegally blocked” as they were critical of the TDP.
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YSR Congress Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP S. Niranjan Reddy filed a complaint with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), alleging that the state’s cable TV operators had “acted under pressure and directions from the TDP-led government to block these channels without justification or procedural compliance,” reported The News Minute.
The letter, dated June 11, stated, “Such interference causes a chilling effect on the freedom of the press.”
“Since Friday night, all four TV channels have gone blank. The cable TV operators say they have been told to take them off air but they will not tell who gave the orders,” an executive from one of the blocked channels said, as quoted by The Indian Express.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists demanded an immediate restoration of access to all blocked news broadcasters and urged state leaders to ensure they operate freely and without censorship.
#India: Cable operators in Andhra Pradesh state should immediately restore access to news broadcasters Sakshi TV, TV9, NTV, and 10TV, and state leaders must ensure all broadcasters can operate freely and without censorship.https://t.co/oFhuHcZ5cM
— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) June 13, 2024
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In May 2021, the then-ruling YSRCP government allegedly pressured cable TV operators to take Telugu news channels TV5 and ABN Andhra Jyothi, believed to be pro-TDP, off air, which was reportedly banned for five years.
As prescribed in the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017, no service provider should cancel or disconnect the signals of television channels without providing a notice at least three weeks prior with the reasons behind the move specified clearly.
