Pakistan media authority issues new TV licenses

Pakistan’s demand for privately-owned television channels has mushroomed since 2002, when the government first started issuing TV licenses to media houses. (AFP/File)

• Pemra’s permits will be for five categories
• Country has witnessed exponential growth in privately-owned TV channels

ISLAMABAD: Ensuring it meets the ever-increasing demand for TV channels in the country, Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra), issued five new licenses in Islamabad, on Tuesday.
The permits were issued in five different categories, namely; news and current affairs, entertainment, health, education and agriculture.
Bidding for the same was held Pemra’s head office in the capital, with “M/s Galaxy Broadcasting Network (Pvt.) Limited, Lahore declared as the successful bidder” in the news category for a whopping Rs63.5 million, Pemra said in a tweet on its official account.
Meanwhile, BOL Enterprises (Pvt.) Limited Karachi – which already has an existing news channel – won the bid in the entertainment category, while Renaissance (Pvt.) Limited Karachi nabbed the permit in the education sector. Bids in the agriculture and health categories were won by M/s Media Roots (Pvt.) Limited Islamabad and M/s Glam Network (Pvt.) Limited Islamabad, respectively.
Pakistan’s demand for privately-owned television channels has mushroomed since 2002, when the government first started issuing TV licenses to media houses.