Remote Switch-Off

When the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) imposed a ban on 35 entertainment channels, mostly Indian, in early January, it hadn't reckoned with the country's addiction to TV serials and films from across the border. Viewers promptly cancelled their subscription, and cable operators plugged out local private TV channels, in retaliation against their alleged role behind the ban.

PEMRA justified the ban, saying the 35 channels did not possess the 'landing rights', or a licence to market and distribute their content, mandatory for channels uplinking from abroad. PEMRA chairman Iftikhar Rashid says letters were written in June 2005 to foreign channels, asking them to apply for the landing rights. "Only 25 applied, the remaining channels, mostly Indian, were thus banned," he explains. On the banned list, though, were also those—for instance, the hugely popular Star Plus—who possessed the licence. These channels were banned because they, says Rashid, negate the socio-cultural and religious values of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Media analysts, however, claim the ongoing row between cable operators and private channels isn't as much about legal procedures or ersatz nationalism, as it is about cornering the advertisements Indian TV channels, particularly Star Plus, attract. The battle was heralded as soon as Geo TV, in October, and ARY, in December, launched separate entertainment channels. They bought rights to previously aired Indian TV serials and movies, hoping to cash in on their popularity here.

However, the hurdle to the plan was Pakistan's 5,000 cable operators who beam Indian channels live. They do this through the decoders and access cards (each with a time limit) that cable operators purchase from the marketing agencies of Indian channels based in Pakistan or outside. Some of these cards, though, are also bought in the black market.

The popularity of Indian channels has pulled in Pakistani advertisements that cable operators substitute for Indian ads during commercial breaks. Sample the figures: out of Pakistan's total electronic advertising revenue of Rs 5 billion a year, Star Plus alone bags Rs 3 billion. This is precisely where the politics comes in. Says chairman of the Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (CAP) Khalid Sheikh, "Their (Geo, ARY, etc) objection is that Indian channels, especially Star Plus, eat into the advertising pie on which they all depend. This seems acceptable. However, from the consumer's perspective, this is a confession by our media managers that they are simply facing a drought in the imagination department."

Sheikh says the ban has made TV-watching in Pakistan boring, prompting viewers to discontinue cable service. Not only did cable operators lose in subscription, they were also denied the revenue accruing from advertisements booked with them on Indian channels. Stung, the CAP blocked on its network the transmission of Geo and ARY, which have come together to form the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA). The CAP's argument: the PEMRA ban is discriminatory: it prohibits them from showing Indian channels even as the private players telecast Indian TV serials and films.

The three-day ban in January goaded the PBA to sue for peace. A compromise proposal was consequently worked out. It was decided that neither cable operators nor private channels would show Indian content, and that they will together devise a strategy to prevent Star TV, Zee etc from selling DTH/decoders in Pakistan containing Indian content. Both the CAP and the PBA decided to meet again on February 1, 2006, after eliciting views from their members.

However, at the February 1 meeting, the CAP accused Geo TV of showing Indian content in violation of the pact, and subsequently threatened to completely black out private Pakistani channels. CAP vice-chairman Khalid Arain says, "Nobody in the government can dare stop Geo from airing Indian content because it often obliges the government by toeing the 'official line'. That's why cable operators are being thrown out of business."

It's ultimately the common man who is suffering because of the ban, says media researcher Zafarullah Khan, adding that the elite are watching Indian channels through decoders that "they are increasingly buying." The demand for these channels has prompted cable operators to violate the PEMRA ban in ingenious ways. For instance, they conceal the Star TV channel's logo behind a colourful strip, and substitute the promos of the channel with commercials. In Pakistan, you can say, the star still shines from behind the cloud.