CA to review licence row with top media houses

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) will hold a board meeting next week to review a petition by three leading media houses challenging the regulator’s decision to withdraw their digital broadcasting licence.

Nation Media Group which owns NTV, Standard Group (KTN) and Royal Media Group (Citizen TV) on Wednesday filed a petition with the CA seeking a review of its decision to revoke their licence over a controversial advertisement.

The three were issued with the licence as a consortium, the Africa Digital Network (ADN).

But CA on January 21 withdrew the licence arguing that an advert aired by the three media houses was in bad taste and violated the Must Carry rule — a policy that gives competing digital broadcasters the right to carry the three media house’s content for free.

“The earliest we can meet is next week,” said CA chairman Ben Gituku on the sidelines of a digital migration conference at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

READ: Top TV companies accuse regulator of defying court

Withdrawal of the digital broadcast licence and cancellation of frequencies initially issued to the consortium, if not reversed, risks plunging the media houses into huge financial losses given that they have already made plans to import 150,000 set-top boxes to air their content.

ADN’s set-top boxes, expected to retail for as low as Sh2,000 each, will allow consumers to watch NTV, KTN, Citizen TV and QTV for free and to access add-ons such as Internet services.

On Wednesday South Africa’s ruling ANC party announced that it had brokered a deal between warring media houses that would pave the way for migration to digital broadcasting.

The South African government has offered to subsidise acquisition of set-top boxes for poor households, a policy position that the Kenyan media houses are urging the CA to take.

All countries are expected to ditch analogue broadcasting by the June 15 deadline.