Paki

stanEl
ect
roni
cMedi
aRegul
ator
y

ThePaki stanElectronicMediaRegulatoryAuthor ity(PEMRA)was

establi
shedundert hePakist
anElectr
oni cMedi aRegul atoryAuthori
ty(the
PEMRAOr di
nance), andhasthemandat etoregul atetheestabli
shmentand
operati
onofal lbr
oadcastmediaanddi str
ibut
ionser vi
ces,whichare
regulat
edi ntermsoft hePEMRAOr dinanceandt her ulesandregulati
ons
framedt hereunder( thePEMRALaws) .PEMRAr egulatesthedistri
buti
onof
forei
gnandl ocalTVandr adi
ochannel sinPaki stan

PEMRAshal lhavetheexclusiv
er ighttoissuel i
cencesf orthe
establishmentandoper at
ionofal lbroadcastmedi aanddi stri
buti
on
servi
ces, providedthatthi
sexcl usiveri
ghtshal lbeusedbyPEMRAi n
conformi t
ywi ththepr i
nci
plesoff air
nessandequi tyappl iedt oallpotent
ial
appli
cant sforl i
cences,whoseel i
gibil
it
yshal l
bebasedonpr escri
bed
cri
terianot i
f i
edi nadvance.Inthecaseofr adio,tel
ev i
sionandmul ti
channel
mul t
ipoi ntdistri
buti
onser vi
ce(MMDS)br oadcastst ati
onl icences, t
his
shallbedonet hroughanopen, transparentbiddi ngprocessi fthenumber
ofappl icati
onsexceedst henumberofl icencest obei ssuedbyPEMRA.No
personorent i
tycanengagei nbr oadcast i
ngorCTVoper ationexceptaf t
er
procuringal i
cencei ssuedbyPEMRA.Forpur posesoft hef oregoi
ng:

‘
broadcastmedia’i
ncl
udessuchmedi athatori
ginateandpr opagat
e
broadcastandprer
ecordedsignalsbyterr
estri
almeansort hr
oughsatel
li
te
forradi
oortelev
isi
onandi ncl
udest el
epor
ting,pr
ov i
sionofaccessto
broadcastsi
gnalsbychannelprovider
sandsuchot herformsofbroadcast
medi aasthePTAmayal low,withtheapprovalofthef eder
algover
nment ;
and

‘
dist
ributionservi
ces’i
ncludesaser vi
cethatreceiv
esbr oadcastand
prer
ecor dedsignalsfr
om diff
erentchannelsanddistri
butest hem to
subscri
ber sthr
oughcabl e,wi
relessorsatel
li
teoptionsandi ncludescabl
e
TV,Local Multi
pointDist
ribut
ionServi
ce,MMDS, di
rect-
to-home( DTH)and
suchot hersi
mi l
artechnologi
es.
Therelev
antgov ernmentmini
str
yregardi
ngtel
ecommunicati
onsservi
ces
i
stheMi nist
ryofInformat
ion,
Broadcasti
ng,
National
Hist
oryandLit
erary
Heri
tage(Pakist
an) .

PEMRAshal
li
ssueli
cencesforbr
oadcastmedi
aanddi
str
ibut
ionser
vices
i
nthef
oll
owi
ngcategori
es,namel
y

i
nter
nat
ional
-andnat
ional
-scal
est
ati
ons;

pr
ovi
nci
al-
scal
ebr
oadcast
s;

l
ocal
areaorcommuni
ty-
basedr
adi
oandTVbr
oadcast
s;

speci
fi
candspeci
ali
sedsubj
ect
s;

di
str
ibut
ionser
vices;
and

upl
i
nki
ngf
aci
l
iti
es,
incl
udi
ngt
elepor
ti
nganddi
git
alsat
ell
i
tenewsgat
her
ing.

Owner
shi
prest
ri
cti
ons

Doanyf orei
gnowner shi
prest
rict
ionsapplytomediaservi
ces?I
sthe
ownershiporcont rol
ofbroadcastersotherwiser
est
ri
cted?Aret
hereany
regul
ati
onsi nrel
ationtothecross-ownershipofmedi
acompanies,
i
ncludi
ngr adio,t
elevi
sionandnewspaper s?

Yes,
ali
cenceshal
lnotbegr
ant
edt
o:

aper
sonwhoi
snotaci
ti
zenofPaki
stanorr
esi
denti
nPaki
stan;

af
orei
gncompanyor
gani
sedundert
hel
awsofanyf
orei
gngov
ernment
;

acompanythemajor
it
yofwhoseshar
esareownedorcont
rol
ledbyforei
gn
nat
ional
sorcompani
eswhosemanagementorcont
rol
isvest
edinforei
gn
nat
ional
sorcompani
es;or

anyper
sonf
undedorsponsor
edbyaf
orei
gngov
ernmentoror
gani
sat
ion.

Li
censi
ngr
equi
rement
s
Whatarethel
icensi
ngrequi
rementsforbroadcasti
ng,i
ncludi
ngt
hef
ees
pay
ableandthetimescal
eforthenecessaryauthor
isat
ions?

PEMRA

Aper
sonwhoi
sissuedal
i
cenceundert
hePEMRAOr
dinanceshal
l
:

ensur
ethepreser
vati
onofthesov
erei
gnt
y,secur
it
yandi
ntegr
it
yoft
he
Isl
amicRepubl
icofPaki
stan;

ensur
ethepreserv
ati
onofthenati
onal
,cul
tural
,soci
alandr
eli
giousv
alues
andthepri
ncipl
esofpubl
icpoli
cyasenshr
inedintheConst
it
uti
onofthe
Isl
amicRepubli
cofPaki
stan;

ensurethatallprogrammesandadv ert
isement
sdonotcont ai
nor
encourageviolence,ter
ror
ism,racial
,et
hnicorrel
igi
ousdiscr
iminati
on,
sectar
iani
sm, extremism,mili
tancy,hat
red,por
nography,
obscenity
,
vul
garit
yorot hermat er
ial
offensiv
et ocommonl yaccept
edstandardsof
decency;

compl
ywi
thr
ulesmadeundert
hePEMRAOr
dinance;

broadcast,i
fpermissibl
eundert hetermsofi t
slicence,pr
ogrammesinthe
publi
cinterestspeci
fiedbythef eder
al governmentorPEMRAi nthe
mannerindi cat
edbyt hegover nment ,or,asthecasemaybe, PEMRA,
provi
dedt hatthedurati
onofsuchmandat oryprogrammesdoesnot
exceed10percentoft hetotal durat
ionoft hebroadcastoroperati
onbya
stat
ionin24hour s,exceptif
, byi t
sownv oli
ti
on,ast ati
onchoosesto
broadcastsuchcont entforal ongerdur ati
on;

compl
ywitht
hecodesofprogrammesandadver
ti
sementsapprovedby
PEMRAandappoi
ntanin-housemoni
tor
ingcommit
tee,
underinti
mati
onto
PEMRA,t
oensur
ecompl i
ancewitht
heCode;

notbr
oadcastordi
str
ibuteanyprogr
ammeoradv
ert
isementi
nvi
olat
ionof
copyr
ightoranyot
herproper
tyri
ght;

obt
ainano-
obj
ect
ioncer
ti
fi
cat
e(NOC)f
rom PEMRAbef
oret
hei
mpor
tof
anyt
ransmitt
ingappar
atusf
orbr
oadcast
ing,
dist
ri
but
ionort
elepor
ti
ng
oper
ati
on;and

notsel
l
,tr
ansf
erorassi
gnanyofther
ight
sconf
err
edbyt
hel
i
cencewi
thout
pri
orwri
tt
enpermi
ssionofPEMRA.

Pursuantt ot hePEMRAOr dinance, anypersondesirousofobt ai

ninga
l
icencef orest abli
shmentandoper ationofbroadcastmedi aora
distr
ibutionser vi
ceshall applytoPEMRAi nsuchmannerandf orm asmay
bepr escribed.ThePEMRAshal lprocesseachappl icati
oninaccor dance
withpr escribedcrit
eri
aandshal l holdpubli
chear i
ngsi ntherespective
provincialcapital
sofeachPr ovi
nce, orasthecasemaybe, inIsl
amabad,
beforegr ant i
ngorrefusingt helicence.Eachappl i
cationshallbe
accompani edbysuchf eeast hePTAmaypr escr
ibe.Al i
cenceshal lbe
vali
df oraper i
odoff i
ve,10or15y earssubjecttopay mentoft heannual
feepr escribedfrom ti
met ot i
me.ThePTAmayr enewal icenceonsuch
termsandcondi t
ionsasmaybepr escribedandincaseofr efusaltorenew
alicencer easonsshal lber ecordedi nwr i
ti
ng.

PEMRAmayal sograntpermissi
ont oadistri
buti
onser v
iceli
censeefor
runni
ngofin-housedistr
ibut
ionchannelsubjecttosuchtermsand
condi
tionsandpaymentoff eeandot herchargesasthePTAmaypr escr
ibe,
provi
dedthatonlyPakist
anicontentshallbedist
ribut
edonsuchchannel .

PEMRAr egulat
esthetradi
ti
onal
dist
ribut
ionpl
atf
orms,
whereasthe
Paki
stanTelecommunicati
onPTA, i
nadditi
ontoPEMRA,j
oint
lyr
egulat
es
i
nter
net-
basedpl at
for
ms.

Everyappli
cat
ionform shallbeaccompani edbyanon-ref
undabl
e
appli
cati
onprocessingfeeassetouti nSchedule-
BofthePakistan
Elect
roni
cMedi aRegulatoryAuthor
ityRules2009(thePEMRARul es)
.
Appli
cati
onsforthegrantofal i
cenceshal l
,i
nthefi
rsti
nstance,
beshort
l
istedbyadoptingthefoll
owingcrit
eria:

f
inanci
alv
iabi
l
ity
;
t
echni
cal
feasi
bil
i
ty;

f
inanci
alst
rengt
h;

cr
edi
bil
i
tyandt
rackr
ecor
d;

majori
tyshar
ehol
dingandmanagementcont
rol
shal
lvesti
nPaki
stani
nat
ionals;

pr
ospect
soft
echni
cal
progr
essandi
ntr
oduct
ionofnewt
echnol
ogy
;

marketadv
ancement
,suchasi
mpr
ovedser
vicef
eat
uresormar
ket
concept
s;

cont
ri
but
iont
ouni
ver
sal
ser
viceobj
ect
ives;
and

cont
ri
but
iont
oot
hersoci
alandeconomi
cdev
elopmentobj
ect
ives.

PEMRAshal l
,wit
hin100day sfr
om thedateofi tsreceipt,t
akeadeci
sion
ontheapplicati
onf ort
hegr antofalicencesubjecttocl ear
ancefr
om the
Mini
stryofInter
iorandfrequencyal l
ocati
onbyt heFr equencyAll
ocati
on
Board(FAB)inrelevantcases.PEMRAshal lprescri
bepr ocedur
esforan
openandt r
anspar entbi
ddinginsuchcaseswher enumberoft he
appl
icant
sisl i
kelytoexceedt henumberofl icenceswhi chPEMRAhas
fi
xedforthatcategoryorsubcat egor
y .

PEMRAshal l,i
fitissati
sfi
edt
hattheappli
cantful
fi
lsthecri
ter
ia,
andhas
pai
dt heprescr
ibedf eeandot
hercharges,
ifany,grantl
i
cencetothe
appl
icant.Ever
ylicenseeshal
lfol
l
owthegener alt
ermsandconditionsas
setoutinSchedule-CofthePEMRARul es

Eachsuccessf ulappli
cantshall
,wit
hint i
mepr escr
ibedbyPEMRAand
beforetheissuesoft heli
cence,deposittheappli
cablel
icencefeeand
makeasecur it
ydeposit,i
fappli
cable,assetoutinSchedule-B.Thesecur
it
y
depositshallberefundabl
eaf t
ertheexpiryofoney earofoperati
onofthe
stat
iontothesat isf
acti
onofPEMRA.

For
eignpr
ogr
ammesandl
ocalcont
entr
equi
rement
s
Ar
ethereanyregul
ati
onsconcerni
ngthebroadcast
ingoff
orei
gn-pr
oduced
pr
ogrammes?Dot herul
esrequir
eami ni
mum amountoflocalcont
ent?
Whattypesofmediafal
lout
sidethi
sregi
me?

LicenseesofPEMRA, pursuanttot het ermsoft heirli

cence, ar erequiredto
car r
yallchannelsoft heNat i
onal Broadcast erandal llicensedsat ell
i
teTV
andf orei
gnsatel l
iteTVchannel shav ingl andingr ightsper missionof
PEMRA.Suchl icensees, underal lcircumst ances, shall provi
de‘ basic
ser v
ice’
,whichincl udesabouquetofsat ell
iteTVchannel sasdet ermi ned
byPEMRAcompr isingchannel swi thr el
i
gi ous, educat ional,i
nf ormational
,
newsandent ertainmentcont ent.Alicenseeshal lber estrict
edt ocar ryor
relayonlythosef orei gnsat el
lit
eTVchannel st hathav eobt ainednecessar y
l
andi ngright
sper mi ssionofPEMRAf or‘landing’ intoPaki stani t
errit
ory.A
l
icenseemaynotdi scriminateagai nstanyl i
censedTVchannel orlanding
ri
ght spermissi
onhol derinof fer
ingi tsbroadcastordi st r
ibutionplatform.

LicenseesofPEMRA, pur suanttot het ermsoft heirl

icence, arer equi r
edt o
offeratleastonebasi cser v
icepackage( t
hismeanst hefr ee-to-air
televi
sionchannel soft henat i
onal br oadcasters,non-commer cial
educational andheal th-relat
edTVchannel sl i
censedbyPEMRAandsuch
otherfree-to-ai
rtelevi
si onchannel sasdet erminedbyPEMRAt obe
distr
ibutedbyadi stri
but ionservicel icenseetoi tssubscr iber sagai nsta
fi
xedmi nimum mont hlysubscr ipti
onf ee)thatincludest hemust -
car ry
channel s(thismeanst hechannel sofnat i
onal broadcast er s,non-
commer cialeducat i
onal channel slicensedbyPEMRAandsuchot herfree
toairtelevisi
onchannel sasdet ermi nedbyPEMRAt obedi stri
but edbyt he
distr
ibutionnetwor ksi ncludingIPTVnet workst oitssubscr ibers),f orwhi ch
i
tdoesnotchar geasubscr i
pti
onf eeatar at
ehi ghert hant hemaxi mum f ee
prescri
bedbyPEMRA.

PEMRAhasr ecentl
yissuedanoti
fi
cati
onwher ebyai
ri
ngofI
ndiancont
ent
hasbeenbanned.Fur ther
,ai
ri
ngprogr
ammest hatar
eaproducti
onof
i
nternat
ionalenti
ti
esrequir
espri
orapprovalf
rom PEMRA.PEMRAhasal so
prohi
bit
edt hebroadcastmediaordi
str
ibuti
onservi
ceoper
atorfr
om
broadcast i
ngorrebroadcast
ingordi stri
buti
nganyprogrammeor
advertisementi fPEMRAi soft heopinionthatsuchparti
cularprogramme
oradv ertisementisagainsttheideologyofPakistanorisli
kelytocr eat
e
hatredamongt hepeopleorispr ej
udici
altothemaintenanceofl awand
order,ori sli
kel
yt odist
urbpubl i
cpeaceandt ranqui
ll
it
yorendanger s
nati
onal securi
tyorispornographic,obscene,vul
garoroffensiv
et ot he
commonl yacceptedstandardsofdecency .

WebTVandOTTdi
str
ibut
ionf
all
sout
sidet
hisscope.

Adv
ert
isi
ng

Howisbroadcastmediaadv
ert
isi
ngr
egul
ated?I
sonl
ineadv
ert
isi
ng
subj
ectt
othesamer egul
ati
on?

Broadcastmedi aadv erti

singi salsor egulatedbyPEMRA.Adv ert
isement s
broadcastordi str
ibutedbyt hebr oadcastmedi aordi stri
butionservice
operatorshallber equiredt ocompl ywi t
ht hePEMRALaws, andthe
provi
sionsoftheMot ionPi cturesOr dinance1979, ther ulesandcodeof
conductmadet her eunder.Adv ert
isement sshallalsoconf ormtot heTV
CodeofAdv er
tisingSt andar dsandPr acticesinPaki stanand
Adverti
sementCodei ssuedbyPEMRA.Dur i
ngar egularpr ogrammea
conti
nuousbr eakf oradv er ti
singshal lnotexceedt hreemi nutesandt he
durati
onbetweent wosuchsuccessi vebr eaksshallnotbel essthan15
minutes.Thelicenseeshal l mai nt
ainar ecor dandregi sterofthe
programmesbei ngbr oadcastordi st
ributedbyhim orherandshal l,
f ora
peri
odofnotl esst han45day s,preservesuchpr ogrammes.

Adver
ti
sementsair
edordist
ri
butedbyabr oadcastorcabl eTVstat
ionshall
bedesignedi
nsuchamannerthatt heyconformtot helawsofthecountr
y
andarenotoff
ensi
vetomorali
ty,decencyandr el
i
gioussectsofthepeople
ofPaki
stan.Noadver
ti
sementshallbepermi t
tedthat:

Promotesorsupport
ssedi
ti
on,anar
chyorv i
olencei
ncount
ry;
isagai
nst
anyprovi
sionsoft
heConsti
tut
ionofPaki
stanoranyotherl
awforthet
ime
beingi
nforce;
tendstoinci
tepeopl
etocrime,causedi
sor
derorv
iol
enceorbr
eachofl
aw
orglor
if
iesviol
enceorobsceni
tyinanyway;

glori
fi
esadul
ter
y,l
ust
ful
passi
onsoral
cohol
i
cdr
inksort
henon-
Isl
ami
c
values;

di
stor
tshist
oricalf
acts,
tradi
ti
onsofPaki
stanort
heper
sonorper
sonal
i
ty
ofanati
onalleaderorastatedi
gni
tar
y;

f
ansr
aci
al,
sect
ari
an,
par
ochi
al,
regi
onal
orcl
asshat
red;

promotessoci
ali
nequal
i
tyormi
l
itat
esagai
nstconcept
sofhumandi
gni
ty
anddigni
tyofl
abour;

i
sdi
rect
edagai
nstsanct
it
yorhome,
fami
l
yandmar
ri
age;

i
swhol
l
yormai
nlyofar
eli
giousorpol
i
tical
nat
ure;

contai
nsr ef
erencesthatar
eli
kel
ytoleadthepubli
ctoi
nferthatt
he
productadverti
sedoranyofit
singr
edientshassomespecialpr
oper
tyor
quali
tythati
si ncapabl
eofbei
ngestabl
ished;

cont
ainsi
ndecent
,vul
gar
,orof
fensi
vet
hemesort
reat
ment
;or

cont
ainsmat
eri
alt
hati
srepugnantt
oideol
ogyofPaki
stanorI
slami
c
val
ues.

Thegoodsorser vi
cesadv erti
sedshallnotsuff
erfr
om anydefectsthatar
e
harmfultohumanheal th.Mi sl
eadingclai
msaboutt hegoodsshal l
notbe
made.Noadv ert
isementt hatisl
ikel
ytobeseenbychi l
dreni
nlarge
number sshouldurgechi l
drendirect
lytopurchasegoodsofapar ti
cul
ar
brandoraskt hei
rpar entst odoso.Al l
adv er
ti
sementsmustbecl earl
y
di
stingui
shableassuchandbesepar atefrom t
heprogrammes, andshoul
d
notinanymannert aket hef or
m ofnewsordocument ary.

Must
-car
ryobl
igat
ions

Ar
ether
eregul
ati
onsspeci
fyi
ngabasi
cpackageofpr
ogr
ammest
hat
mustbecar
ri
edbyoperator
s’broadcast
ingdi
str
ibut
ionnetwor
ks?I
sther
e
amechani
sm f
orf
inancingthecostsofsuchobl
igat
ions?

LicenseesofPEMRA, pursuanttot het ermsoft heirli

cence, ar erequiredto
car r
yallchannelsoft heNat i
onal Broadcast erandal llicensedsat ell
i
teTV
andf orei
gnsatel l
iteTVchannel shav ingl andingr ightsper missionof
PEMRA.Suchl icensees, underal lcircumst ances, shall provi
de‘ basic
ser v
ice’
,whichincl udesabouquetofsat ell
iteTVchannel sasdet ermi ned
byPEMRAcompr isingchannel swi thr el
i
gi ous, educat ional,i
nf ormational
,
newsandent ertainmentcont ent.Alicenseeshal lber estrict
edt ocar ryor
relayonlythosef orei gnsat el
lit
eTVchannel st hathav eobt ainednecessar y
l
andi ngright
sper mi ssionofPEMRAf or‘landing’ intoPaki stani t
errit
ory.A
l
icenseemaynotdi scriminateagai nstanyl i
censedTVchannel orlanding
ri
ght spermissi
onhol derinof fer
ingi tsbroadcastordi st r
ibutionplatform.

LicenseesofPEMRA, pur suanttot het ermsoft heirl

icence, arer equi r
edt o
offeratleastonebasi cser v
icepackage( t
hismeanst hefr ee-to-air
televi
sionchannel soft henat i
onal br oadcasters,non-commer cial
educational andheal th-relat
edTVchannel sl i
censedbyPEMRAandsuch
otherfree-to-ai
rtelevi
si onchannel sasdet erminedbyPEMRAt obe
distr
ibutedbyadi stri
but ionservicel icenseetoi tssubscr iber sagai nsta
fi
xedmi nimum mont hlysubscr ipti
onf ee)thatincludest hemust -
car ry
channel s(thismeanst hechannel sofnat i
onal broadcast er s,non-
commer cialeducat i
onal channel slicensedbyPEMRAandsuchot herfree
toairtelevisi
onchannel sasdet ermi nedbyPEMRAt obedi stri
but edbyt he
distr
ibutionnetwor ksi ncludingIPTVnet workst oitssubscr ibers),f orwhi ch
i
tdoesnotchar geasubscr i
pti
onf eeatar at
ehi ghert hant hemaxi mum f ee
prescri
bedbyPEMRA.

PEMRAhasr ecentlyissuedanoti
fi
cati
onwher ebyai
ri
ngofIndi
ancont
ent
hasbeenbanned.Fur ther
,ai
ri
ngprogr
ammest hatar
eaproducti
onof
i
nternati
onalenti
tiesrequir
espri
orapprovalf
rom PEMRA.PEMRAhasal so
prohi
bitedthebroadcastmedi aordi
str
ibuti
onservi
ceoperat
orfr
om
broadcasti
ngorr ebroadcasti
ngordi
stri
buti
nganyprogrammeor
advertisementi fPEMRAi soft heopinionthatsuchparti
cularprogramme
oradv ertisementisagainsttheideologyofPakistanorisli
kelytocr eat
e
hatredamongt hepeopleorispr ej
udici
altothemaintenanceofl awand
order,ori sli
kel
yt odist
urbpubl i
cpeaceandt ranqui
ll
it
yorendanger s
nati
onal securi
tyorispornographic,obscene,vul
garoroffensiv
et ot he
commonl yacceptedstandardsofdecency .

Regul
ati
onofnewmedi
acont
ent

I
snewmedi acontentandi
tsdel
iv
eryr
egul
ateddi
ff
erent
lyf
rom t
radi
ti
onal
br
oadcastmedia?How?

PEMRAhaspr ovi
dedoni t
swebsi
teConsult
ati
onPaperNo.Web&OTT/1-
2020i
nrelat
iontoconsult
ati
ononregul
ati
ngtheWebTV&Ov ertheTop
TV(OTT)ContentSer
vices.

Theconsul tati
onpaperstatesthatt heextensivegrowt hofWebTVand
OTTmar ketandt heexcessivedisrupti
onoft heseser vi
cestot
raditi
onal
broadcaseser vi
ceshavemader egulator
sv i
gilantallovert
hewor l
d.It
furt
herst atest hati
tistheresponsibil
it
yofPEMRAt opr ovi
dealevel
playingfieldtoal l
.Si
nceOTTandWebTVoper at or
sar ecompl
etingforthe
sameadv erti
sementorsubscr i
ptionrevenueast heli
censedoperator
s,
therefore,itisimperati
vethattheser vi
cesber egulatedatparwithother
services.

‘
WebTV’ refer
st obroadcastofcont enteitherliveorrecordedmade
avai
lableforviewingoft hepubli
ct hrought heinter
net,eit
herf reeofcostor
onpay mentofasubscr i
ptionfee.Thecont entt obemadeav ailabl
ewi ll
ei
therbepr oducedbyt hel i
censeeorheorsheshal lowni tscopy r
ight.The
servi
ceisequi val
enttolinearTVsuchast hesat ell
it
eTVchannel slicensed
bythePTA; howev er,t
hedi ff
erencei sonlyinthemedi um ( i
e,itisav ail
able
vi
athei nt
ernet).Thecont entshal
l beinaccor dancewi ththeCodeof
ConductofPEMRA.WebTVshal lbeconsi deredasabr oadcastser vi
ce.
Theterm‘ over-t
he-t
op’ (
OTT)TVr eferstocont entservi
cest hatar e
accessibl
eov ertheinternetandcanbeaccessedf rom anypl aceatany
ti
meonpr iv
ateorpublicinter
netbyusersusingv ar
iet
yofdevi
ceseit
her
fr
eeofcostorbypayingasubscr ipti
onfeetotheser v
icepr
ovi
ders.The
contentt
obemadeav ail
ableshallbeei
therproducedbytheli
censeeorhe
orsheshallowni
tscopy right
.Thecontentshallbeinaccor
dancewitht
he
CodeofConductofPEMRA.

Ifal
lorpartoftheoffer
ingofaser v
iceprovidertov iewersi
sli
kel
yto
competewi t
hl i
nearTV,andthenatureofthecont entandit
saccesswi
l
l
l
eadv i
ewerst oexpectsomesor tofregul
atorypr otecti
on,t
her
eisa
probabi
li
tythattheservi
cebeingprovidedi
sei therWebTVorOTT.

I
faservi
ceiscompet
ingforthesameviewersoraudi
enceasali
nearor
non-
li
nearTVorbr
oadcastservi
ce,
thenitcanbeconsi
deredOTTorWeb
TV.

Thefol
l
owingexamplesgiv
esomeint
roduct
ionoft
het
ypesofser
vicet
hat
arel
i
kelyt
obeconsideredOTTorWebTV:

acont entstr
eamingservi
cewher ebyanewsorent ert
ainment(eg,movies,
dramas, sport
s,documentaries,r
egional,sci
enceandtechnology,musi
c
andot hersimil
arcont
ent)ismadeav ail
ableviaawebsiteei
therli
veor
recordedthatmaycompet ewi ththelinearTVservi
ce(theservicecanbe
classif
iedasaWebTVser vice);

video-on-demand(non-l
i
nearcont
ent )(
ie,
mov i
es,music,drama,et
c)
providedonlinev
iaawebsitebyapr ovi
derexerci
singedi
torial
cont
rolov
er
thecont ent(t
heservi
cecanbeclassifi
edasanOTTser v
ice);

apayperv i
ewcontentser
vicev
iaawebsi
tewherebyt
heprov
ider
,whi
le
exerci
singedi
tor
ial
contr
ol,
chargest
hevi
eweronaper-v
iewbasi
s(OTT
serv
ice);

acat ch-upservi
ce,whetherpr ogr
ammesar emadeavail
ablefrom t
he
broadcast er’
sownwebsi te,anonli
neaggr egat
edmediaplayerservi
ceor
throughat el
evi
sionplat
formt oaset-t
opboxl i
nkedtoatelevi
sion
(whet herusingbroadcast‘push’t
echnologyor‘pul
l
’vi
deoondemand)( an
OTTser
vice)
;and

atelevi
sionpr
ogrammear chiv
eser vicecompr isinglessrecenttel
ev i
sion
programmesf r
om avari
etyofbr oadcast er
sorpr oductioncompani es,
madeav ail
abl
ebyacont entaggregat orexerci
singedi t
orialr
esponsibi
lit
y
overallt
heprogrammes, whetherviaadedi catedwebsi te,onli
ne
aggregatedmediapl
ayerservi
ceort hr oughatelevisionplatfor
m( OTT
servi
ce).

Ser v
icest hatareprimari
lynon-commer ci
alornon-economic,andt hatare
notincompet i
ti
onwi t
htelevi
sionbroadcast
ing(l
inearornon-l
inearTV)
maynotbecl assifi
edasOTTorWebTV.Thi smayi ncludepubli
cser vi
ce
mat erial
,user-generat
edv i
deocontentpostedbypr iv
ateindi
vidualsfornon
-commer cialpurposesofsharingandexchangewi thi
ncommuni t
iesof
i
nt erest.

I
tisalsopossiblethatpartofanov eral
lconsumerofferi
ngofaservice
provi
derconsti
tutesanOTToraWebTVi ni
tsownr i
ght.Forexample,
whereaserviceprovideroffersamov ieandtelev
isi
onprogramme
downloadserviceaspar tofit
sbroader ,
non-audi
o-v
isualonl
ineact
ivit
ies,
thensuchaser vi
cemaybeconsi deredt obeanOTTCont entServi
ce.Mor e
general
ly
,asingleoutletorplatf
orm( suchasawebsi t
e)canbehomet o
oneservi
ceorsev eralservi
ces.

Di
git
alswi
tchov
er

Whenist heswi t
choverf
rom analoguetodi
git
albr
oadcast
ingr
equir
edor
whendidi toccur?Howwi l
lradi
of r
equenci
esfr
eedupbytheswit
chover
bereal
located?

PEMRAi ssuedadi recti

ver equiri
ngallcableoperator
si nPakistanto
repl
aceanaloguecabl esy stemswi thdigit
alcableTVsy stemsby
September2016acr ossthecount r
y,st
arti
ngwi t
h12maj orci
ties,at
esti
matedcostof90bi ll
i
onr upees.Howev er
,PEMRAext endedt he
deadli
neforlocalcableoper atorstoswi t
chfrom analoguetodi git
alcabl
e
TVinmaj orcit
iesofPaki stant otheendofMay2017, whil
etheent i
re
urbanareaofthecountrywastobedi gi
tal
i
sedbyendofSeptember2016.
Thesame, howev er
,hasnotyetbeencomplet
edonaccountofli
ti
gat
ion
i
niti
atedagainstPEMRAr egar
dingaucti
onofDTHli
cences.

ThePaki st
anTableofFrequencyAllocat
ionsisthebroadesttechnical
documentshowingt heall
ocati
onofbandst ovari
oustypesofser v
ices.
ThePaki st
anTableofFrequencyAllocat
ionsisdrawnfrom, andkept
currentwit
h,t
heITURadi oRegulat
ions,whicharerevi
sedev eryfewy ear
s
attheWor l
dRadioCommuni cati
onConf erences.

Di
git
alf
ormat
s

Doesr
egul
ati
onr
est
ri
cthowbr
oadcast
erscanuset
hei
rspect
rum?

Spectr
um canonlybeusedfort
hepurposef orwhi
chishasbeenassi
gned
tobroadcast
ersbytheFAB,
unlesst
helicenceheldbythem pr
ovi
des
other
wise.

Medi
apl
ural
it
y

Isther
eanyprocessforassessi
ngorr
egul
ati
ngmediaplur
ali
ty(
orasimil
ar
concept)i
nyourj
uri
sdict
ion?Maytheaut
hori
ti
esr
equir
ecompaniestotake
anystepsasaresul
tofsuchanassessment?

Thereisnosuchpr ocessav ail

abl
eint hepubli
cdomain.However,
apr i
vat
e
enti
tycal
ledtheFreedom Net workindependentlyoper
atesamedia
ownershi
pmoni torforPakistan.Wecannotcommentont hecorr
ectnessof
thedatathathasbeenr ef
lectedont heirwebsi
te.

Keyt
rendsandexpect
edchanges

Provi
deasummaryofkeyemer
gingt
rendsandhott
opi
csi
nmedi
a
regul
ati
oni
nyourcount
ry.

PEMRAr ecentlyissuedanot i
fi
cat
ionwherebyai r
ingofI
ndiancontenthas
beenbanned.Fur ther
,air
ingprogr
ammest hatareaproducti
onof
i
nternat
ionalenti
tiesrequir
espri
orapproval f
rom PEMRA.PEMRAhasal so
prohi
bit
edt hebroadcastmedi aordi
str
ibutionservi
ceoperat
orfr
om
broadcast i
ngorrebroadcast
ingordi stri
buti
nganyprogrammeor
advertisementi fPEMRAi soft heopinionthatsuchparti
cularprogramme
oradv ertisementisagainsttheideologyofPakistanorisli
kelytocr eat
e
hatredamongt hepeopleorispr ej
udici
altothemaintenanceofl awand
order,ori sli
kel
yt odist
urbpubl i
cpeaceandt ranqui
ll
it
yorendanger s
nati
onal securi
tyorispornographic,obscene,vul
garoroffensiv
et ot he
commonl yacceptedstandardsofdecency .

Furt
her,PEMRAhasprovi
dedonitswebsiteConsul
tati
onPaperNo.
Web&OTT/ 1-
2020i
nrelat
iontoconsult
ati
ononregulat
ingt
heWebTV&
OvertheTopTV(OTT)ContentServ
ices.

Theconsul tati
onpaperst at
esthatt heextensivegrowthofWebTVand
OTTmar ketandt heexcessivedisrupti
onoft heseservicestotraditi
onal
broadcastser vi
ceshavemader egulatorsvigi
lantal
lovert hewor l
d.It
furt
herstatest hati
tistheresponsibil
ityofPEMRAt opr ovi
deal evel
playi
ngfieldtoal l
.OTTandWebTVoper atorsarecompet ingforthesame
advert
isementorsubscr i
pti
onrev enueasl i
censedoper ators;
therefore,
iti
s
i
mper ati
vet hattheservi
cesber egulatedatparwi thotherservices.

‘
WebTV’ referstobroadcastofcont entei therliveorr ecordedmade
avai
lableforv i
ewingoft hepubl i
ct hrought heinternet,eit
herf reeofcostor
onpay mentofasubscr iptionfee.Thecont entt obemadeav ailablewill
ei
therbepr oducedbyt hel icenseeorheorsheshal lowni tscopy r
ight.The
servi
ceisequi val
enttol i
nearTVsuchast hesat el l
i
teTVchannel slicensed
bythePTA; however,t
hedi ff
erencei sonl yinthemedi um ( i
e,itisav ail
able
vi
athei nt
ernet).Thecont entshall bei naccor dancewi ththeCodeof
ConductofPEMRA.WebTVshal lbeconsi deredasabr oadcastser vi
ce.
Thet er
m‘ over-t
he-t
op’ (OTT)TVr eferst ocont entser vi
cest hatar e
accessibl
eov ertheinternetandcanbeaccessedf rom anypl aceatany
ti
meonpr iv
ateorpubl icinternetbyuser susingv ari
etyofdev icesei ther
fr
eeofcostorbypay i
ngasubscr iptionf eet otheser viceprov i
der s.The
contenttobemadeav ail
abl eshalleitherbepr oducedbyt helicenseeorhe
orsheshal lowni t
scopy right.Thecont entshal lbeinaccor dancewi t
hthe
CodeofConductofPEMRA.

Ifal
lorpartoftheoffer
ingofaser v
iceprovidertov iewersi
sli
kel
yto
competewi t
hl i
nearTV,andthenatureofthecont entandit
saccesswi
l
l
l
eadv i
ewerst oexpectsomesor tofregul
atorypr otecti
on,t
her
eisa
probabi
li
tythattheservi
cebeingprovidedi
sei therWebTVorOTT.

I
faservi
ceiscompet
ingforthesameviewersoraudi
enceasali
nearor
non-
li
nearTVorbr
oadcastservi
ce,
thenitcanbeconsi
deredOTTorWeb
TV.

Thefol
l
owingexamplesgiv
esomeint
roduct
iont
othet
ypesofser
vicet
hat
arel
i
kelyt
obeconsideredOTTorWebTV:

acont entstr
eamingservi
cewher ebyanewsorent ert
ainment(eg,movies,
dramas, sport
s,documentaries,r
egional,sci
enceandtechnology,musi
c
andot hersimil
arcont
ent)ismadeav ail
ableviaawebsiteei
therli
veor
recordedthatmaycompet ewi ththelinearTVservi
ce(theservicecanbe
classif
iedasaWebTVser vice);

video-on-demand(non-l
i
nearcont
ent )(
ie,
mov i
es,music,drama,et
c)
providedonlinev
iaawebsitebyapr ovi
derexerci
singedi
torial
cont
rolov
er
thecont ent(t
heservi
cecanbeclassifi
edasanOTTser v
ice);

apayperv i
ewcontentser
vicev
iaawebsi
tewherebyt
heprov
ider
,whi
le
exerci
singedi
tor
ial
contr
ol,
chargest
hevi
eweronaper-v
iewbasi
s(OTT
serv
ice);

acat ch-upservice,
whetherpr ogr
ammesar emadeavail
ablefrom t
he
broadcast er’
sownwebsi te,anonli
neaggr egat
edmediaplayerservi
ceor
throughat el
evi
sionplat
formt oaset-t
opboxl i
nkedtoatelevi
sion
(whet herusingbroadcast‘push’t
echnologyor‘pul
l
’vi
deoondemand)( an
OTTser vi
ce);and

atel
evi
sionpr
ogr
ammear chi
veservi
cecompr isingl
essrecenttel
evi
sion
pr
ogrammesfrom av
ari
etyofbr
oadcastersorpr oduct
ioncompanies,
madeavail
abl
ebyacont
entaggregatorexer
cisingedit
ori
alresponsi
bil
it
y
overallt
heprogr
ammes,whethervi
aadedicat
edwebsit
e,onli
ne
aggregatedmedi
apl
ayerser
viceorthr
oughatelev
isi
onpl
atfor
m( OTT
serv
ice).

Ser v
icest hatareprimari
lynon-commer ci
alornon-economic,andt hatare
notincompet i
ti
onwi t
htelevi
sionbroadcast
ing(l
inearornon-l
inearTV)
maynotbecl assifi
edasOTTorWebTV.Thi smayi ncludepubli
cser vi
ce
mat erial
,user-generat
edv i
deocontentpostedbypr iv
ateindi
vidualsfornon
-commer cialpurposesofsharingandexchangewi thi
ncommuni t
iesof
i
nt erest.

I
tisalsopossiblethatpartofanov eral
lconsumerofferi
ngofaservice
provi
derconsti
tutesanOTToraWebTVi ni
tsownr i
ght.Forexample,
whereaserviceprovideroffersamov ieandtelev
isi
onprogramme
downloadserviceaspar tofit
sbroader ,
non-audi
o-v
isualonl
ineact
ivit
ies,
thensuchaser vi
cemaybeconsi deredt obeanOTTCont entServi
ce.Mor e
general
ly
,asingleoutletorplatf
orm( suchasawebsi t
e)canbehomet o
oneservi
ceorsev eralservi
ces.
Amendment
stot
heLawRegul
ati
ngEl
ect
roni
cMedi
ainPaki
stan

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Despitethefactthatt
heFederalGovernmentder egulat
edt hefiel
dof
el
ectronicmediain2002andbegant ogr antpermanentl i
censesf orthe
establi
shmentandoper ati
onofelect
roni
cmedi ast ati
onstot heprivate
sector,i
thasbeenr el
uctantt
ograntsuchlicensest oowner sofexisti
ng
medi ainPakist
an.TheFederalGovernmenthascommonl ycited

thePaki st
anEl
ectronicMedi aRegul at
oryAuthorityOrdinance,2002asthe
basisuponwhichowner sofexistingmediaent erpri
sesmaynotbegr anted
abroadcastmedi a,dist
ribut
ionser v
iceorCTVl icense.TheFeder al
Gover nmentmaintainsthatthePEMRAOr dinance, 2002cont ai
nsa
prohibit
ionont
hegr antofsuchl icensesexi
stingmedi aowner smaybe
i
ssuedwi t
habroadcast( orotherelectr
oni
cmedi a)li
cense.

N.B.–Pl easeseesepar at edocumentchal l

engingtheexist enceofthe
all
egedr estri
cti
onsont heowner shi pofmor ethanonemedi aenterpriseby
asi ngleowneri nthePEMRAOr dinance, 2002.Thepapersuggest st hatt he
PEMRAOr di
nance,2002doesnot ,initsel f
,barcross-medi aowner ship, but
rathert hatsecondary(orenabl ingl egislati
on)iswhatpur portstoinstitutea
banoncr oss-medi
aowner ship.Thepaperf urthercontendst hatit
Par l
iament aryapprovalisnotnecessar yorr equiredinordert orepeal t
he
restricti
onsoncr oss-medi aowner ship.Thepaperal sodet ail
stheexi sting
l
egal regimegov er
ningel ect
roni cmedi ainPaki stanandt hepi t
fal
ls
associ atedwi t
hsuchar egimef orpr ivateowner sofexistingmedi a.
.

Duetopr essurefrom existingmediagroupsinPaki st

an,suchast heDawn
GroupofNewspaper s,thegov ernmenthasbeenf orcedtoconsider
amendi ngthePEMRAOr dinance,2002.Asar esul
t,si
nce2004, thePEMRA
Bil
l,
anamendmentt otheexi sti
ngPEMRAOr dinance,2002,hasbeenunder
deli
berati
oninPar li
ament .ThePEMRABi l
lenv i
sagesamendi ngthe
exi
stingprovisi
onsoft hePEMRAOr di
nance,2002soast oallowexist
ing
owner sofmedi aenterpri
sest oownorcont r
ol morethanasi nglemedia
ent
erpr
ise.

Aft
erthr
eey ear
sofdel i
berat
ion,
theNati
onalAssembl
yfinal
l
ypassedthe
PEMRABi l
li
nFebr uary2007.Thi
sbil
lhasnotyetcomeintofor
ceasitst
il
l
await
sPresi
dentialassent
.

Thisdocumentat
temptstohi
ghl
ightkeyareasi
nwhichthePEMRABil
l
seekstoamendthePEMRAOr di
nance,2002andtheeff
ectofsuch
amendmentsonexist
ingorpot
enti
almediaownersinPaki
stan.

Anal
ysi
sofSel
ect
edPr
ovi
sionsoft
hePEMRABi
ll

Ambi
toft
hePaki
stanMedi
sRegul
ator
yAut
hor
it
y(PEMRA)
:

•ThePEMRABi llseekstowi dentheambi tofthePEMRAOr dinance, 2002

asi tal
lowsf orPEMRAt oregulatetheestabli
shmentandoper ati
onofal l
“electr
onic”mediaasopposedt omer el
y“broadcast”media.“Electr
onic
medi a”coversbot hbroadcastmedi aanddi str
ibut
ionser
vices.This
effecti
velygivesPEMRAcompl etecontroloverthesuppl
yand
dissemi nat
ionofinformationthroughelectronicmedia.

•Inaddi t
ion,
PEMRAmaynowr egulatethedistr
ibut
ionofforei
gnandlocal
telev
isionandr adi
ochannelsi
nPaki st
an.Thisofcourse,i
sanext r
emely
widerangingclauseasitnotonl
yall
owsf orPEMRAt oregulatet
he
presenceoflocal andf
oreignt
elevi
sionandr adi
ochannels,butal
sothe
distr
ibuti
onoft hesame.

•Tosum up,PEMRAwi l
lber esponsibl
ef orissuingl i
censest ointer
national
andnati
onalscalebroadcastandcabl etelevisi
onst ations,forprovi
ncial
scal
ebroadcastandcablet elev
isi
onst ati
ons, forlocalareacommuni ty
basedradi
oandt el
evisi
onbr oadcaststations,forspeci f
icandspeci al
ised
subj
ectbroadcastandcablet el
evi
sionst ati
ons, fordistr
ibuti
onser v
icesf or
thesame,andforanyupl i
nkingfaci
lit
y( i
ncludingt el
epor t
ingandDSNG’ s).

•Fur
thermore,underSect
ion18,
PEMRAmayf ur
thersub-
cat
egori
sethe
abovecategori
es“asitmaydeem f
it
.”Thi
sisanextremel
yambiguous
conf
erralofpowerastheBil
lmakesnoment i
onofanycri
ter
iat
hatPEMRA
mustappl yorr ef
ertowhencr eat
ingsuchsub- categori
es.Assuch, i
tmay
l
eadt ocompl et
earbit
raryandadhocuseofpower .Forexample,recent
ly,
uponper usingthePEMRAwebsi te,wedi scov eredthatPEMRAhadi ndeed
sub-cat
egor isedthecategoryof“uplinkingf acil
ity
.”Nonot if
icat
ionofsuch
achangei ntheRulesorRegul ati
ons( aspr omul gatedbyPEMRA)hasbeen
communi catedtothepublicorbeenpubl ishedi ntheof f
ici
algazett
e.These
categori
esseem t ohav esuddenlyemer gedont hewebsi teandont he
websiteal one.Dotheyhav etheforceofl aw?Noonei scert
ain,buti
t
appearsthatappl i
cantsareexpect edt oabidebyt hem.

•Sect i
on19( 2)oft hePEMRABi llall
owsPEMRAt odet erminet henumber
oflicensestobei ssuedineachcat egor yorsub-categor yment i
onedabov e.
Onceagai n,
t hisisanabsol ut
epowerandPEMRAi snotobl i
gedt oconf orm
toanypr i
nci
pl esofequal i
ty,f
air
ness, dueprocesset cindet er
mi ningt he
numberofl i
censest obei ssued.Thi smayper petuat ethecurrentscenar i
o
wher eincertainexisti
ngmedi aowner shav ebeengr anteda
l
icense/ tempor aryupli
nkingpermi ssionbyPEMRAwher easother shav e
not,andnov alidreasonhasbeenascr i
bedbyPEMRAf orsuch
discriminati
on.Thi sSectionlegi
ti
mi sesPEMRA’ sadhocgr antofl icenses
andpr ov i
desi twithacopouti ninst anceswher et heFeder alGov ernment
i
sr eluctanttoi ssuealicensetocer tainmedi aowner s,
butnott oot her
s.

•Section32oft hePEMRABi llgivesPEMRAt heabil

it
yt ograntexempt i
ons
from anypr ovisionsoft heOrdinance, i
ninstanceswher ePEMRAi softhe
viewt hattheexempt i
onser vest hepublicint
er est
.Undert hePEMRA
Or di
nance, 2002, anyexempt ionssomademustbe“ basedongui deli
nes
andcr it
eriaident i
fi
edint herules”andf urt
herpr ovi
dest hat“such
exempt ionsshal lbemadei nconf or
mitywitht hepri
nciplesofequali
tyand
equityasenshr i
nedi ntheconst ituti
on.
”Interesti
ngly,t
hePEMRABi l
l
remov est heser equir
ement s,thusl eav
ingitopenf orPEMRAt ogr
ant
exempt ionswi thoutadher i
ngt opr escr
ibedgui del
inesorr ul
esoffair
ness.

•Sect
ion39(2)(
c)oft
hePEMRABil
lenabl
esPEMRAt oprescr
ibe
st
andardsandmeasuresf
ort
heest
abli
shmentofbr
oadcastmedia
st
ati
onsandi
nst
all
ati
onofequi
pment
.

•ThePEMRABi ll
purportst oi
ntroduceSect i
on39( 2)( d)
,whichpr ovi
des
thatPEMRAandt hegov ernmentwi llj
ointl
ypr escr
ibet ermsandcondi t
ions
forbroadcastmediaand/ ordi
st r
ibutionserviceoper atorswhoown, control
oroperatemor ethanonemedi aent erpr
ise.ThePEMRABi l
l i
ssilentast o
whatsor toft
ermsandcondi t
ionsi tisauthorisedtopr escr
ibef r
om t i
met o
ti
meanddoesnotpr ovideagener alframewor kofr ulesandr egulat
ions
thatl
icenseescanexpectt oabideby .

•ThePEMRABi ll
alsoi nt
roducesSect ion39(2)(e)whi chstatesthat
PEMRAandt hegov er
nmentmustj oi
ntlydefi
net heci r
cumstances
const it
utingundueconcent r
ationofmedi aowner shipandabuseofpower s
andant i
-compet i
ti
vepr acti
cesbymedi acompani es.Onceagain,nofurt
her
cl
ar if
icationhasbeengi venont hekindofcr i
teri
at hatPEMRAandt he
gov ernmentwi llr
elyoni nordert odeterminewhet herant
i-
compet i
ti
ve
practicesar etaki
ngpl ace.Assuch, t
hedef i
nit
ionof“ undueconcentrat
ion”
i
sl efttot hegovernment ’sdiscret
ion.

ThePr
obl
em ofCr
oss-
Medi
aOwner
shi
p:

•Thecl ausei nthePEMRAOr di

nance, 2002whi chhasbeenseenbyt he
gover nmentasr est r
icti
ngcr oss- medi aowner shipisSect ion23(2)whi ch
reads“ I
ngr anti
ngal i
cense, theAut hori
t yshallensur ethatopenandf air
compet it
ioni sf
aci l
it
atedi ntheoper at
ionofmor ethanonemedi a
enterpri
sei nanygi venuni tofar eaorsubj ectandt hatundueconcent r
ation
ofmedi aowner shi pisnotcr eat edi nanyci ty,townorar eaandt hecount ry
asawhol e. ”ThePEMRABi l
l supplement st hi
scl ausebyaddi ng“ Provi
ded
thatifalicenseeowns, control soroper atesmor ethanonemedi a
enterpri
se, heshal l
noti ndulgei nanypr acticewhi chmayi mpedef air
compet it
ionandpr ovisi
onofl evel playi
ngf i
eld.”Thecl ausenowexpl icit
ly
providest hatexi sti
ngmedi aowner smaybegr antedabr oadcastor
dist
ributi
onser vicelicense,pr ovidedt hatt heydonotbehav eanti-
compet it
iv elyorf or
m amonopol y.Whi lstthisisawel comeaddi ti
ontot he
Ordinance, t
herei sstil
lnocr iteri
aaccor dingt owhi chant i
-compet i
ti
ve
behaviourmaybeestabl
ishedandnoristhereanyindi
cationofwhat“any
pract
icewhichmayimpedef ai
rcompetit
ion”is.Assuch,i
twillf
allsol
ely
uponPEMRAandi t
sdiscret
iontodet
erminewhatconst i
tutesanti
-
compet i
ti
vebehav
iour.

•Int hepast ,t
hegov ernment’
ssol utiont ot hebanoncr oss-media
owner shipseemst ohav ebeent ogr antt empor ar
yupl i
nkingper mi ssi
onsto
existingmedi aowner stoestabli
shandoper atebroadcastt el
evision
channel sand/orstations.Undertheexi stinglegal r
egime, PEMRAhas
mani pul at
edthePEMRAOr di
nance, 2002t ogranttempor aryuplink
permi ssionstoexist i
ngmedi aowner si nPaki stanforthepur posesof
establ i
shingabr oadcastt el
evisi
onst ati
onorchannel wher eascl early,
the
PEMRAOr di
nance,2002doesnotenv isaget hegr anti
ngoft histempor ary
uplinkper missionfort hesakeofest ablishingabr oadcastst ati
on–i ti
s
mer elyanupl i
nkper mi ssi
onf oralreadyest abli
shedbr oadcastorcabl e
tel
ev isionstati
ons( suchast heBBCorCNNet c)whodesi retoobt aina
shor t-
term permissiont oupli
nkt oasat elli
te.

•ThePEMRABi l
lproposest oaddanewSect ion31t othePEMRA
Or dinance, 2002.Thi scl ausedeal swi thuplinkingf aci l
it
iesandpr ovides
that“ noper sonshal lcarryoutupl inkingwi thoutav alidtelepor torsat ell
it
e
telev i
sionl i
censef rom t heAut hority.”Section31( 2)goesont ost atethat
“TheAut horitymay ,subjectt of ulfi
lmentofsuchcondi t
ions, asmaybe
prescr ibed, i
ssueper missioni nwr i
tingt oapar tytocar ryoutt empor ary
upl i
nkingf rom agr oundt ransmi ssionf acil
itytoasat ell
iteinor dert o
transmi tanypr ogrammewi thinorout sidePaki stan. ”ThePEMRABi lldoes
l
ittletor emov ethedi ffi
cultiesposedbyt hePEMRAOr dinance, 2002.
Whi lstitdoesexpr essl yallowf orPEMRAt oi ssueanupl inkingper mission
toanypar tywhat soev er(wher east hePEMRAOr dinance, 2002onl yallows
forexi stingbr oadcastorcabl et el
ev i
sionst ationst obegr antedsucha
per missi on), i
tst
illdoesnotgof arenoughi nal lowi ngper sonswhoar e
grant edt hisper missiont oact uall
yest ablishabr oadcastt el
ev isionst ati
on
orchannel ont hebasi sofat empor ar yuplinkper mi ssion.Fur ther mor e
nowher ei nt heprimar yort hesecondar ylegislation, doesi tstat ewhatt he
durati
onofsuchat empor ar
ypermissionisorwhatcondi ti
onsneedt obe
ful
fil
l
edbyt hepot
entialappli
canttoavailoft
hisper
mi ssion.Assuch, i
tis
anarbitr
aryandsweepingpowergr antedtoPEMRAt oissuetempor ary
permissi
onsanditsti
lldoesnotv al
idate,
legi
ti
miseorlegalisestat
ionsthat
areestabli
shedpr
imar i
l
yont hebasisofthistemporaryuplinkpermissi
on.

Power
sofI
nspect
ionandSei
zur
eofLi
censee’
sEqui
pment
:

•PEMRAhaswi despr
eadpowerst
oi nspectal
icensee’
spremisesand
equi
pmentatanytimeandtoconf
iscateorsei
zeal i
censee’
sequipmenti
f
i
tdeemsfi
t.

•Sect
ion29allowsforanyofPEMRA’ sof f
icerstoenteri
ntoalicensee’
s
premi
sesforthepurposesofinspecti
on,withoutanyforewarni
ng.The
PEMRAOr di
nance,2002pr ov
idedforsuchapower ,
butstatedthatsucha
powermayonl ybeusedupont heprovi
sionof“ r
easonablenoti
ce.”The
PEMRABi l
lseekstodoawaywi t
htherequirementof“ r
easonablenoti
ce”
andal
lowsPEMRAof fi
cial
stoconductrandom searches.

•Further
mor e,
theSecti
on29(4)oft
hePEMRABillal
lowsforPEMRAto
authori
seanyofitsoff
icer
stoundert
ake“
inv
est
igati
on,i
nthemanneri
t
maypr escr
ibe,i
nanymat t
er…”

•Secti
on29(5)doesawaywithther
equi
rementf
orPEMRAt oissueashow
causenoti
cetotheli
censeebef
oresei
zi
ngit
sequipmentorseali
ngi
ts
premises.

Regul
ati
onofCont
ent
:

•ThePEMRABi llconf
ersanewrightont
oPEMRA,namely
,ther
ightto
deviseacodeofconductf
orprogrammesandadv
erti
sementswhich
l
icenseesshal
lcomplywit
h(Secti
on19(5))
.

•Section20(c)oft
hePEMRABi l
lexpandsonSecti
on20( c)ofthePEMRA
Ordinance,
2002andprovi
desthatnotonlymustli
censeesensuret hatall
programmesandadv er
ti
sementsdonotcont ai
norencouragev i
olence,
terr
orism,r
acial
,et
hni
correl
i
giousdiscri
minati
on,
sectari
anism,extremism,
mili
tancy,hat r
ed, butalsot hattheydonotcont ai
norencour age
pornography ,obsceni t
y,v ulgarit
y ,
“ orot hermat eri
aloffensivetocommonl y
acceptedst andar dsofdecency .”Thi scl ausei sextremel yvagueandi snot
rootedinanyt angiblecriteria.Asar esul t,thi
ssect i
on( intheformt obe
foundint hePEMRAOr dinance, 2002)hasbeenusedast hepr et
extfor
PEMRAt oi ssueci r
cularst oel ectronicmedi aowner srequiringthem to
prohibi
ttheai ringofpr ogr ammeswhi chdeal wi t
hthei ssueofKashmi r,t
he
reporti
ngofnat ionaltr
agedi esandi ncident s,andmostr ecently,
ofany
programmesr eporti
ngt hepr oceedi ngsoft heSupr emeJudi ci
alCouncilor
“anyprogr ammesconcer ni ngissuespendi ngbef or
etheCounci l
”inthe
caseoft her eferralagainstt heChi efJust iceofPaki stan.

•Sect
ion20(
f)oft
hePEMRABi l
lrequi
resl
icenseest
oappointani
n-house
monit
ori
ngcommittee“
underi
nti
mat i
onbytheAuthori
ty”t
oensur
e
compli
ancewit
hPEMRAcodesofconduct.

•ThePEMRABi l
li
nsert
sanewSection27,underwhichPEMRAmay
prohi
bitanybr
oadcastmediaordi
str
ibut
ionservi
ceoperat
orfr
om
broadcasti
ngordist
ri
buti
nganypr
ogrammeoradv er
ti
sementi
fPEMRAi
sof
t
heopi
niont
hati
tvi
olat
esanypar
tofSect
ion20(
c)oft
hePEMRABi
l
l.