KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 4
Ofcom, the British regulator for communications services, has revoked China Global Television Network's (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the United Kingdom, on Thursday.
CGTN is an international English-language satellite news channel.
According to the statement issued today, the regulator said that after an investigation, it was found that CGTN's licence to broadcast in the UK was wrongfully held by Star China Media Limited, which has no editorial control over CGTN's programmes.
According to the UK broadcasting laws, a broadcast licensee must have control over the licensed service including editorial oversight over the programmes they show, and the licence holders cannot be controlled by political bodies.
Furthermore, the broadcast regulators also rejected the licence transfer to China Global Television Network Corporation as it was ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.
The statement further states that the regulatory body had numerous opportunities to come into compliance with the statutory rules but without any results.
"We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK."
We have revoked China Global Television Network's (CGTN) licence to broadcast in the UK, after our investigation concluded that the licence was wrongfully held by Star China Media Ltd. (SCML).
Read here for more information: https://t.co/R97X1hYnkA pic.twitter.com/7lDKvEipZW
- Ofcom (@Ofcom) February 4, 2021
