Entertainment
Bangladesh Foreign Channels No barrier in broadcasting 24 foreign channels
Dhaka, October 4, 2021: There is no obstacle to run 24 foreign channels given clean feed, said the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Hasan Mahmud.
He made the remarks after an exchange of views with representatives of the Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO) at the Information Ministry's conference room at the Secretariat on Monday (October 4).
The Minister said, "You have congratulated us for implementing the decision taken in the interest of the country, for which we thank you." The skies of Bangladesh are open, the government has not asked to close any channel. We just said that according to the law of Bangladesh which is in all the countries of the world. That law is in force in many countries, including Europe and America. Even in countries like Nepal, that law is in force. That is, foreign channels must broadcast without advertisements and it is accepted everywhere including India, Pakistan, Nepal and America. But it was not allowed in our country.
He said the law had been enforced for two years. Meetings have been held with all parties in stages. We had a unanimous decision in a meeting more than a month ago, we will implement the law from October 1. The meeting was attended by Television Owners Association, Broadcast Journalists Forum, Cable Operators, Distributors. It was decided at that meeting that the law would be implemented from October 1. We made this decision after discussing with everyone.
The minister said there has been an attempt to spread confusion about Cleanfeed from a quarter. I hope they refrain from spreading confusion. The government is determined to implement the law. We have implemented this law in the interest of the people, in the interest of the media industry, in the interest of the artists and journalists. So it is not desirable for anyone to take a stand against the interests of all. Above all, it is not desirable to take a stand against the country.
Hassan Mahmood said, "I have come to know that all the foreign channels are giving clean feed. I mentioned 16 channels yesterday. In fact, not 18, but more than 24 channels. More than 24 channels provide cleanfeed in Bangladesh, so there is no obstacle in running them. Akash DTH is running these. There is no obstacle for others to run these too. If any letter is required in this regard, we will send it to the cable operators. If anyone still does not run these, the license will be violated. So no one will do the breach.
Earlier, ATCO President Anjan Chowdhury, Vice-President Mozammel Babu and Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury thanked the Information Minister for implementing Cleanfeed.
