Information minister Dr Hasan Mahmud warned on Saturday of strict law enforcement against the airing of local advertisements on foreign TV channels from tomorrow.
"We're going to strictly enforce law from April 01 to check the airing of local advertisements on foreign TV channels," he said.
Dr Mahmud sounded the note of warning as the chief guest at a roundtable styled "The crisis faced by local private TV channels" at Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka.
Broadcast Journalists Centre organised the event with its convener Rezwanul Haque Raza in the chair.
Gazi TV editor-in-chief Syed Ishtiaq Reza presented a keynote paper there.
At the event, the minister said the government has already published an advertisement twice with a plea not to air local advertisements on foreign TV.
Further advertisement is being put in the press today (Sunday) on the same issue, he added.
"We hope cable operators will cooperate with us in protecting the industry (private TV stations)," Dr Mahmud cited.
He said the government would take punitive measures against those involved in foreign TV advertising.
Online TV channels have posed a potential threat to private TV channels, he went on to say.
Dr Mahmud said the big challenge to private TV channels is the rate of advertisement.
"The number of private channels has increased, but their market is getting squeezed," he added.
"At the same time, the channels have also cut the rates of advertisement in the interest of their survival."
A band of senior journalists of different TV channels also spoke at the programme.
They said private TV stations are getting deprived of advertising revenue and consequently falling into a financial black hole.
Many advertisers now opt for online TV channels, thus depriving private TV stations of revenue, they added.
DBC chairman Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Channel 24 managing director AK Azad and Bengal Group vice-chairman Asfar Khair were present at the event.
Also present there were former chief information commissioner Golam Rahman and labour law expert advocate Jafrul Hasan Sharif, among others.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com
