I&B Ministry
Notices to several Pak TV channels for ‘violations’
MUMBAI: Freedom of speech is being curtailed in the sub-continent. Media watchdog Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has issued show-cause notices to nine channels — Waqt TV, Ab Tak TV, Channel 5, 7 News, Aaj TV, Sach TV, Roze TV, News One and Capital TV — for airing ‘fake news’ between 8.00pm and 9.00pm on 22 March about a plane crash in Kallar Syedan near Rawalpindi. The channels have been asked to respond by 31 March.
PEMRA has also issued a notice to ARY News, a private channel, for airing “hate speech” against the country’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif asking it to respond by the same date. The regulator has the powers to ban the channel’s ‘offensive’ programme, cancel its operating licence and impose a fine of a million rupees.
Also, PEMRA issued a separate notice to Dawn News TV for failing to comply with its decision to suspend Zara Hat Kay talk show for three days. The host on 9 March had discussed a corruption case against Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui despite a case being sub-judice. This act of violating the Authority’s order is tantamount to willful defiance and the Authority has directed the channel’s management to explain within three days i.e. before or on 27 March before 4.00pm why it defied.
According to the ‘hate speech’ details, a guest speaker, who appeared on ‘The Reporter’, a programme on ARY on Thursday, termed a recent statement of Sharif as “blasphemous”.
PEMRA said it was a dangerous trend. The hosts of the programme neither intervened on this occasion nor stopped him from passing such comments, which was a violation of PEMRA Code of Conduct 2015.
In a separate case, PEMRA had informed the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) on 17 February to amend the advertisement of “Zong 4G” till 20 February before 6 pm; otherwise, PEMRA under Section 27 of PEMRA Ordinance 2002 as amended by PEMRA (Amendment) Act 2007 shall prohibit the said advertisement forthwith.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
