FUNCTIONS OF THE AUTHORITY

The Authority is responsible for facilitating and regulating the

establishment and operation of all broadcast media and distribution
services in Pakistan established for the purpose of international, national,
provincial, district, and local or special target audiences. Basically it
allow all cable operator to broadcast channels according PEMRA
permission and PEMRA also issue license to every channel owner in the
country, the license have certain expiry date after this date the channel
owner have to renew the license by paying some charges on it.

PEMRA’s MANDATE

Improve the standards of information, education and

entertainment

Explanation
 
PEMRA impose certain obligation on channel owners to provide
authentic information to their viewers and they also improve the
standard of entertainment.
    
  Enlarge the choice available to the people of Pakistan in the
media for news, current affairs, religious knowledge, art, culture,
 science, technology, economic development, social sector
concerns, music, sports, drama and other subjects of public and
national interest ;

Explanation
  Basically PEMRA has increasing the number of channels by
providing licenses to new channel owners recently they provided
license to many news channels.
 
Its main object is to increase the number of channels not only the
number of channels but also effective channels.

Facilitate the devolution of responsibility and power to the grass

roots by improving the access of the people to mass media at the
local and community level ;

Explanation
PEMRA also focused on providing better media facilities to
every people of Pakistan means they try to minimize the cable
charges so that a middle man can easily afford. Through this
approach every person can increase its knowledge about what’s
going on in Pakistan and the rest of the world.
Ensure accountability, transparency and good governance by
optimization the free flow of information.

Explanation
PEMRA try to create a great sense of responsibility in every
citizen of Pakistan.
ORGANIZATION CHART OF PEMRA
 STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATION (SOQ)

 The interested parties [the companies registered with SECP under the
Companies Ordinance, 1984] desirous of getting licenses to establish
and operate International Scale TV broadcast stations in Pakistan, are
advised to formally apply on the prescribed Application Form along
with the Application Processing Fee as specified in the Schedule to the
Rules and the Statement of Qualifications (SOQs) to the Pakistan
Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) in the form and
manner set out herein. The stations so established shall operate only
through satellite linkages and the license so granted would also include
permission to uplink/down-link the satellite options, subject to the
payment of relevant fees etc. as specified in the Schedule to the
PEMRA Rules 2002.

 Information provided in each SOQ will be used by the Authority

exclusively to evaluate the technical, financial, managerial, legal and
other capabilities of the interested companies. Only such companies
which are pre-qualified by the Authority after such evaluation may
participate in the subsequent competitive bidding for the grant of license
to establish or operate a TV broadcast station in Pakistan.

PRE-QULIFICATION:

In Pre-Qualification we discuss about the channels eligibilities

requirements which are as follows:
Eligibilities Requirements:

In order to be eligible to submit a bid for the grant of license to establish

or operate a Satellite TV Broadcast Station in Pakistan, the applicant
must be pre-qualified by the Authority. An applicant must fulfill the
following eligibility requirements for pre-qualification:

(a) It must be a company or a body corporate, incorporated in

Pakistan with SECP and not an individual;

(b) Should not include Members/Directors/Shareholders who are

not citizens of Pakistan or resident in Pakistan;

(c) Should not be recipient of funds from a foreign government or

organization;

(d) Should not be a firm or company the majority of whose shares

are owned or controlled by foreign nationals or whose
management control is vested in foreign nationals or
companies;

(e) Should not include a person or persons who already own or

operate, as sole or joint shareholders, any other broadcast
station, printed newspaper or

If any one of the above edibility is not fulfill by channel owner so the
channel owner would not able to get a license from PEMRA.
ORGANIZATION AND MANDATORY CONTENTS OF SOQs:

Each SOQ (Statement of Qualification) shall include the following

information

• Organization of the company

• Management and organizational set-up (organization

structure)

• Financial Capability – Source of finance and cash flow

• Technical Proposal

• Cross Media Ownership Affidavit

• Ultimate Beneficial Ownership Affidavit

MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY:

(a) Organizational set-up – names and CVs of key personnel.

(b) Experience and capability to efficiently manage the license to

establish and operate a Television broadcast station.

FINANCIAL CAPABILITY:

The financial capability means the financial soundness of the company;

the following points are also included in financial capability:

The company and each Members/Directors of the company shall submit:

(a) Details of financial and operating background for the last 3 (three)
years demonstrating financial viability, including audited financial
statements duly certified by a firm of chartered accountants.
The financial statements should include consolidated balance sheet and
income and profit and loss statements. Similar financial and operating
information for any parent company, affiliates and associated
undertaking/ companies should also be included. The tax returns filed by
each Member/Director of the company for the most recent 3 (three)
years together with the tax assessment orders of the relevant income tax
authorities).

(b) An up-to-date statement showing the outstanding liabilities (both

fund based and non-fund based i.e. bank guarantees, letter of credit
etc.) to banks and financial institutions. (The company and each
Member/Director of the company will also be required to submit the
details of issued and paid-up capital).

(c) Any other relevant information regarding financial track record and
capabilities of the company that it believes would be helpful to the
company.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL:

The Technical Capability section of the SOQs shall include information

with respect to the technical expertise, satellite and infrastructural
capability of the company to manage a TV broadcast station.

DISCUSSION WITH CABLE OPERATOR:

We taken a valuable discussion with Digital Cable TV Network the key
points of this discussion are as follows:
Firstly they said that all Indian TV channels are banned in Pakistan
except those which allow by PEMRA.

All Zee Channels are totally banned in Pakistan the reason they
provided to us is that these channels telecast some illegal programs
which create wrong perception in mind of Pakistani citizens.

In Karachi there limited number of cable operators

Cable operator also required to get a license from PEMRA, in

order to get a license they have to pay certain amount of money
and the license have one year validity period after this period they
have to renew it, without this license they are not allow to perform
their regular business activities.

Cable operators have to certain amount of money to STAR

channel owner and HBO because these channels are not Pakistani
channels.

Pakistan channel owners pay charges or we can say that a TAX to

government and cable operators are not bound to pay for
broadcasting of Pakistani channels to their respective channel
owners.

The cable operator also informed us that PEMRA monitor all

cable operators in Karachi or in the whole country also by visiting
the offices of cable operators.
LIST OF PAKISTANI CHANNELS:
  Aag TV  Indus News
 AAJ TV  Labbaik TV
 ARY Digital  Masala TV
 ARY One World  MTV Pakistan
 ARY Shopping Channel  News One
 ATV (Pakistan)  NVibe
 Business Plus  Play
 CNBC Pakistan  PTV Home
 Channel 5  PTV News
 G Kaboom (Previously  PTV Global - USA
Channel G)  PTV Bolan
 Din News  QTV
 Dhoom TV  Roshni TV (Currently
 Express News Affair)
 Filmazia  R-world
 Film World  Royal TV
 Geo TV  Rung TV
 Geo News  Samaa
 Geo Super  Silver Screen
 Haq TV  Star Asia
 Hum TV  Sun
 Indus Vision  TV 2 Day
 Indus Music  TV One
 Virtual TV 1  The Musik
 Virtual TV 2

PEMRA issues licenses to five TV channels

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
(PEMRA) on Tuesday issued licenses to five private television
channels including Geo English News.

According to a PEMRA news release, those channels also include:

Business plus

Wikkid Plus

Sachal TV

Aruj TV

Roze TV

VSH

“PEMRA at this occasion repeat its commitment to promote and expand

private electronic media in Pakistan so that everyone can enjoy access
to information,”

Explanation

PEMRA promote private Pakistani Channels in order to facilitate the

citizens of Pakistan.
PEMRA divided the Pakistani Channels into brooder categories which
are as follows:
o News Channels
o Entertainment Channels
o Sports Channels
o English News Channels
o Channels for kids; these channels specifically broadcast programs
for kids like Wikkid-plus
 o Islamic channels; these channels specifically present religious
programs only.

Indian Channels
Basically PEMRA allow few Indian channels which are being broadcast
in Pakistan the name few Indian channels are as follows

 Star Plus
 Star Movies
 Star Gold
 Star World
 Star One
 Sony
 National GEO Graphics
 Sony Max
 DD Urdu
 ETV Urdu
 Peace TV - Islamic channel, Broadcast few programs in Urdu
 Kitab TV - Islamic Channel
 Sahara Samay Urdu - News channel launching soon
 Munsif TV Hyderabad - News channel launching soon

CATEGORIES OF BROADCAST & CABLE TV NETWORK

LICENSES

There shall be six categories of licenses which are as follows

International Scale Stations
National Scale Station
 Provincial Scale Station
Local Area/Community Based stations
Specific and Specialized Subject stations
Cable Television network stations

IN-ELIGIBILITIES FOR GETTING A LICENSE:

A license to establish or operate a broadcast or cable TV network station

shall not be granted to

a) A person who is not a citizen of Pakistan or resident in Pakistan

b) A foreign company organized under the laws of any foreign
government
c) A firm or company the majority of whose shares are owned or
controlled by foreign nationals or whose management control is
vested in foreign nationals or companies
d) A person whose license under the ordinance has previously been
cancelled because of the contravention of the provisions of the
Ordinance
A person who already owns or operates, as sole or joint shareholder, any
other broadcast or cable TV network station, printed newspaper or
magazine or an advertising agency.

Operational strategy

Notably, the Authority has no overriding preferences in the promotion of

electronic media in the private sector. Its principal impulsion is to
stimulate and facilitate in every manner the spawning and growth of a
powerful private electronic media apparatus, which is competitive both
nationally and internationally. Its only preference, if at all it could be so
termed, is that this apparatus should be a potent catalyst for national
cohesion, sectarian harmony, societal moderation, mutual tolerance and
the nation's advancement at home and a powerful image-builder of
Pakistan abroad.

Likewise, the Authority has soft corner for no particular medium to

develop. It views the whole range of electronic media as a field worth
private enterprise. And in no manner does it feel uncomfortable with the
popular interest in mega media projects. That in fact holds up the
pleasing prospect of elevating Pakistan to the ranks of global media
players.

But the Authority was enthused to discern a large measure of interest in

FM radio broadcasting. No less gratifying for the Authority was an
evident eagerness of some educational institutions to utilize the field's
openness for their academic pursuits. Even in advanced countries,
institutions of higher learning have been employing the electronic media
on a large scale for classroom teaching and diverse other educational
purposes. And in many a developing polity, they have emerged as
popular tools for mass literacy drives.

The interest put on display in the electronic media by a clutch of our

universities for enhancing their academic pursuits has spurred the
Authority's confidence that in time the field will catch as much fancy of
the academia as of the entrepreneurial class. And nothing would please
the Authority as much if private players do come forward to launch non-
profit, non-commercial media enterprises to spread literacy in the
country where more than half of our people are illiterate.
FM Radios

Sensing a mounting interest in radio broadcasting in the private sector

and for educational channels on the campuses, the Authority decided to
open its year's book with licences for FM radio stations. An operational
plan was devised, a clearly-defined criterion for assessing the suitability
of aspirants for licence was put in place, benchmarks for processing the
applications were fixed, and a foolproof, open and transparent bidding
procedure was laid out.

The Authority was heartened by the enthusiastic response that its calls
for bids drew. And by the end of the year, it had handed over as many as
29 licences for FM radio stations. Quite delightfully, among the
licensees were the country's three top ranking universities: the Punjab
University, the Peshawar University and the International Islamic
University of Islamabad.

More remarkably, the bidders for the stations were by and large serious
players. In most cases, they were worthy parties, all with one merit or
the other about them. But when it comes to competition, it naturally has
to be a contest between the fittest of the fit. Pruning and short-listing of
aspirants according to prescribed criteria and benchmarks becomes
inevitable and indispensable.

Though the response to its bid calls for electronic media stations was
impressive, the Authority all through assiduously resisted the temptation
of a rash rush. Caution and gradualism have been its watchwords
throughout. Arguably, high leaps often end up in headlong falls. Modest
starts with steady pace culminate in successes, not infrequently
spectacular.

In keeping with its cautious approach and policy of moving up step-by-

step, the Authority used the first phase of its licensing operation for FM
radio stations to cater to the scramble for licences in metropolises and
principal towns. They had the requisite capital, talent and infrastructure
readily available in them. It made for a realistic and pragmatic sense to
exhaust maximally the craze for owning FM stations in big cities so that
the entrepreneurial interest could switch over to smaller cities and towns.
The real fun indeed is to let them have their own FM radio stations.

Now that the prescribed slots for big urban centres have largely been
occupied, smaller cities and towns are expected to catch the eye of the
prospective media investors. And in the second phase of the Authority's
licensing operation for FM radio stations, which has been launched, they
are most likely to attract interested parties for establishing broadcast
stations there.

Satellite TV

Having said that, one must confess that it is the national Satellite TV
stations that hold the real potential of developing into global players,
too, with worldwide reach and audience, to a nation's great honour and
prestige. Motivated serious players are needed to raise viable media
networks of national and provincial import. That clearly involves an
intrusive process of sifting grain from the bran.

Accordingly, the Authority decided to start with the process to award

satellite television broadcast station licences to Pakistani companies
incorporated under the Companies Ordinance, 1984, and laid out an
elaborate procedure of processing and scrutiny of the applications.

The 10 aspirants who formally applied for setting up satellite TV

stations in response to the Authority's public notice were subjected to the
prescribed criterion and scrutiny. Only seven could come up to the fixed
benchmarks. The Virtual University, Lahore, was the first to get licence
to operate two educational satellite TV channels from Pakistan. The
issuance of licence to the other six applicants was in advanced stage of
finalization as the year closed.

Cable TV

Interestingly, cable TV is the largest and fastest-growing medium among

the country's electronic media. Some 7.28 billion rupees, it is estimated,
have already been pumped into the sector. And the investment is
believed to be growing at the phenomenal rate of 132 percent annually.
While the sector is employing some 30,000 people, cable TV is
estimated to have already entered some four million homes.
In the days ahead, cable TV's spread is bound to grow still larger along
with its infrastructure, business, workforce and clientele. Almost all the
world TV networks have switched over to decoder, an expensive
gadgetry not within the means of the bulk of people. But with just a
paltry sum, they can access them all through the agency of cable TV.
And this is what the people are doing increasingly in Pakistan, as
elsewhere in the world.

The national cable TV sector is indeed set to prosper because of the

Authority's two landmark decisions. One is to allow exceedingly low
licence rates, almost 70 percent less than the normal, for establishing
cable TV stations in the rural areas. The country folks who make up the
70 percent of our people understandably cannot be left out from availing
of the latest media technologies for entertainment, information and
education. They must have as much media access and choices as have
their urban cousins. And since the private enterprise is not sufficiently
motivated to set shop in remoter areas, some incentives were needed to
draw it in there. Hence, this decision.

The other is to bring home the Multi-channel Multi-point Distribution

System (MMDS) as part of the Authority's charter to introduce the latest
in media technologies to the country. For its pluses in bandwidth
utilization, data transmission, signals quality and distribution spectrum,
this most advanced system in digital technology is currently making
waves the world over.

With its capability to distribute 60 digital channels, the MMDS was a

natural choice for the Authority to bring home, to the people's benefit.
The process has been set in motion for the establishment of the MMDS
stations by private entrepreneurs in the country. Some 18 companies
have successfully bid for setting up 24 stations in different cities. This
new venture is sure to open up yet another avenue to the private cable
sector to flourish.

But the CTV sector, sadly, remains problematic. Not infrequently

professionalism, ethics and morality are seen here being beheaded
nonchalantly at the chopping block of stark business interests. The
public outcry never subsides over the cable operators' quality of service
and the programme brew they serve to the subscribers. It only rages.

Of course, it isn't right to put all the dirty eggs in the cable operators'
basket. Nor is it fair to put them in the dock for every act of omission
and commission. At least in the choice of channels for viewing, the
subscribers can themselves be more prudent and selective.

Nevertheless, it is the operators' primary responsibility to give them

satisfactory quality service. Indeed, going by the public complaints that
the Authority receives formally and informally, it's the quality of service
that draws them flak even severer than what they get on the score of
pornography and obscenity. So much so, out of the 1004 written
complaints that the Authority received during the year, 640 related to the
quality of service as against 263 that related to obscenity.

The situation on the cable TV's front is disquieting, no doubt. But it isn't
irredeemable, either. In fact, the repair process seems to have already
begun. The indications are too compelling. As for instance, the cable
operators issued licences by the Pakistan Telecommunications
Authority, which was handling this job before the PEMRA's advent,
were found evasive in having them renewed. But they have evidently
begun shedding off their initial reluctance and are now increasingly
coming forward to get them renewed, presumably for the advantages
that accrue in terms of protections, safeguards and security from being a
PEMRA family's member. Nearly half of them had done it by the year's
end. The rest were expected to follow suit.

The Authority has set up a slew of systems and mechanisms, all having
full legal backup, to put order to the as-yet somewhat chaotic cable TV
sector. With the establishment of its fully functional regional offices,
armed with inspection teams, and the Councils of Complaints, plus its
own paraphernalia at the head office, the Authority has acquired a
sizeable muscle to exact compliance from cable operators to its
regulatory regime and the code of ethics, flush out those operating
illegally, collect its dues and recover arrears from them.

Nonetheless, the Authority's preferred instrument still remains the

language of persuasion than the stick of law. It is the Authority's firm
conviction that persuasion works well to keep the people on the right
track and impel the erring to mend their ways. The stick, at times,
creates problems where none exist, unnecessarily precipitates avoidable
tensions and conflicts, and even throws up undesirable crises.

The Authority has sought to involve the community intimately, actively

and in an organized manner in its vigilance of the cable TV sector.
Worth particular mention is the creation of a countrywide PEMRA
Friends club, composed of public-spirited people, educationists, social
workers, journalists, local opinion leaders, and retired judges and civil
and military officers. They volunteered to get drafted in the campaign in
response to the Authority's public call. Some 102 of them are already in
position in various cities. They monitor the cable operations in their
neighbourhoods for quality of service and channels and programmes
being put out and report to the Authority.

There is nothing unusual about this kind of voluntary system of

monitoring. It is in vogue in many a country, not just in the media field
but in diverse other domains. In fact, some states have found business
rivalries and jealousies as a great revealer of the errant, the deviant and
the evader. In our case, the induction of volunteers in the monitoring of
cable TV networks was far more compelling due to their expanse. They
spread out all over the country, a span that understandably is impossible
to scan by the Authority all alone. It is too big for its own enforcement
staff to monitor, and will remain so. Rather, this deficiency is bound to
increase in view of the magnitude and speed with which the cable TV is
expanding in the country. And consequently more voluntary inductions
for monitoring activity would be required by the Authority.

All said and told, the mechanisms and systems instituted by the
Authority to keep an eye on cable operations are demonstrably working
and paying off. Yet, it would be unrealistic to assume there would be
ever no errors or erratic behaviours. Speaking realistically, in spite of all
its monitoring and enforcement mechanisms of the Authority, wrongs
will be committed because that is how the human nature works. But
what is important is to note that there is a perceptible turnaround in the
situation. And there is a definite positive change in the cable operator
community's own outlook and thinking. And it would not be wrong to
say that in times ahead the abiders will be far more than the offenders.

Human Resource
For its working, the Authority has consciously adopted the corporate
culture. The objective is to make for effective dispersal of delegation of
powers, quicker decisions, hassles-free procedures, free flow of ideas
and encouragement of talent. One hallmark of this prudent, pragmatic
and realistic administration policy is that it abhors profligacy and adores
frugality. The guiding principle of the policy is to create where
unavoidably indispensable and recruit where absolutely essential.

In line with this policy, it created during the year an enforcement wing, a
legal wing, an IT wing, an engineering wing and a public relations wing
as was essential to its functions and duties.

And since it is the human resource of an organization that makes the

difference, merit and transparency are the two inviolable principles of its
recruitment policy. As they say in the military parlance, it is not the gun
but the man behind the gun who matters, the Authority is very choosy in
the selection for its manpower.

In the case of direct recruitment, it advertises the posts repeatedly, puts

the candidates to written tests and interviews, and selects the best
possible. In once case when the number of candidates (for the posts of
Assistant General Managers and supervisors) was very large, the
Authority hired the services of experienced and respected Institute of
Cost Management and Accounts Pakistan (ICMAP) to conduct the
examination and select the best.

To get the best is always its wish. The same urge informs its requisition
of experienced officers and staff from the government departments.

More importantly, in no event the Authority wants to accumulate even

an ounce of fat. Its present establishment strength, including regional
offices, stands at 101. The Authority wants to keep the strength taped at
that as far as practically possible.

Finances

Just as in administration, economy conforms the Authority's financial

policy. To spend only where it is unavoidable and conserve money
wherever practically possible are the two pillars of its financial policy.
And it is paying off well.

The Government had given it only some seed money to set shop. For the
rest, it was to fend for itself. It was to generate its own funds and raise
its own revenues for its upkeep. By following a tight financial policy,
the Authority is now not only self-sustaining and self-sufficient
financially but it is also in surplus.

Just as it had showed a net saving after the first three months of its
infancy, so has it at this year's end. The Authority had budgeted Rs.
99.997 million for the year's expenditure. But with tight checks and
controls, it kept the actual spending contained at Rs. 70.320 million,
thereby netting a net saving of Rs. 29.676 million.
Similarly, it had fixed the year's revenue targets at Rs. 100 million. But
with concerted efforts for revenue generation and collection of dues and
arrears, the Authority earned Rs. 111.540 million, thus exceeding the
targets by 11.540 million.

All told, the Authority's finances are healthy and strong. The
Government of Pakistan had authorised the Authority in its charter to
obtain bank loans for its running. But with the blessings of Allah its
financial health has been so buoyant that not even the thought of loan or
subsidy had occurred to it.

Epilogue

In the year ending June, 2002, the Authority had prepared a plan of
action for liberalizing the media. A copy of this plan is again included in
this report. Out of this, two activities which required smaller capital
were undertaken. One was the Cable TV licensing which was allowed
on continuous basis and the other was the setting up of FM Radio
stations in the country.

It may be mentioned that the number of radio stations in Pakistan is very

small. Full coverage is not available to the 100% residents. Moreover the
burden of coverage was placed almost entirely on the national
broadcasters, namely Radio Pakistan, except for Karachi, Lahore and
Islamabad where one private station each also operates. A house study
was carried out to determine the need of the radio stations in the country
including their viability. A comparison was also made with other
countries in the developing world. A copy of the study is placed in the
report.

For the Authority, the year 2002-03 was decidedly eventful. But it was
also a great learning time for it. Some of its systems and mechanisms
practically proved their worth. Some others were found wanting here
and there. Those that worked well would be solidified. Those that could
not perform according to expectations would be suitably amended to
make them efficacious. The weak spots have been identified. Ideas are
being explored, debated and crystallized to remove the lacunas.
Possibly, some amendments may have to be proposed to the PEMRA
Ordinance 2002.

Whatever it takes, the Authority must become an effective institution in

every manner. It deals with a domain that holds a strategic import in the
prevalent global conditions. Wars are now being fought in the minds.
And media, the electronic in particular, have become the weapons of that
war. The Authority is determined to give all props to the electronic
media in the private sector to fight for the share of minds successfully,
both at the national and international levels. Only the private enterprise
has to show the intent, will and grit to become that potent weapon. It
would not find the Authority wanting on that score in any event.