Local Lebanese TV Stations No Longer Free in Cable Subscriptions
Cable television providers have been prohibited from broadcasting for free the eight local Lebanese television stations.
The broadcast of the eight channels, Tele Liban, Future TV, LBCI, al-Jadeed, al-Manar, OTV, MTV, and NBN, through cables has been prohibited in accordance to a decree issued on April 11 by Economy Minister Alain Hakim.
A subscription fee of four dollars has been imposed for those seeking to view the channels.
LBCI, one of the first channels to be removed from free viewing, stated that it can be accessed through the satellite providers cablevision and econet.
Speaking on behalf of the owners of the television channels, lawyer Wissam Mansouri said that violators will be prosecuted.
Those seeking to obtain the rights to broadcast the channels are to submit a request to his office and sign the appropriate legal documents between May 1 and June 1.
An Nahar daily on Saturday attributed the development to a dispute between the owners of the television stations and owners of the cable television providers when the former accused the latter of monopolizing the air, demanding its share of profits being made at their expense.
In the absence of laws regulating the telecommunications sector, most Lebanese get their subscriptions from mostly illegal cable companies that operate through piracy and charge about LBP 20,000 ($13) a month.
M.T.
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