ISLAMABAD: Back in November 2016, PEMRA held an auction for three programming licenses for DTH (Direct-to-Home), a digital box that wirelessly airs channels without a cable connection, after getting the go-ahead from the Supreme Court which also barred it from awarding the final contract before a decision by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on the case.
The licenses worth Rs14.69 billion were auctioned in a bid to curb the illicit Indian DTH broadcasts which were causing massive losses to the national exchequer.
After two months in December 2016, the Lahore High Court ruled that PEMRA had violated rules of its own ordinance as it auctioned DTH licenses. PEMRA, and various companies interested in the bidding later on challenged LHC’s decision in the Supreme Court of Pakistan where Chief Justice Mian Saqib, heading a five-member bench, overturned the verdict given by LHC.
The primary condition for the auction was for any broadcaster to not be allowed to enter into the DTH market without approval from the authorities. PEMRA, before the LHC, had debated the point that if any DTH distributors were allowed to enter into this market, they would end up controlling one-third or more of the share.
Since it requires billions to set up and run such an operation, only the biggest investors would be able to enter the market and completely take over the share.The petition had argued that significant powers would be bestowed to one of the larger broadcasters in such a situation.
