BEIRUT: Information Minister Ramzi Joreige promised to protect Lebanese television channels from illegal competition Tuesday, saying the government would help them overcome their financial difficulties. “I promised the heads of Lebanese stations [to support] their efforts to preserve their legitimate rights from stations that are [illegally] competing with them,” Joreige told reporters after meeting with a delegation representing eight Lebanese TV stations.
“The meeting was positive and serious. We discussed the current situation of the stations, and their suffering as a result of the economic crisis and the effects of illegal competition.”
Joreige met with the chairmen of the boards of directors of Tele Liban, LBCI, MTV, Future TV, Al-Manar, NBN, OTV and Al-Jadeed.
Lebanese television stations have complained of severe financial difficulties over the past five years due to a drop in advertising revenues, partly resulting from the country’s political situation and economic crisis.
They are seeking support and protection from the information and telecoms ministries as they battle competition from foreign stations in Lebanon, and want help preserving their syndication rights. They are also seeking fees from cable providers in return for access to their channels.
Talal Makdessi, chair of Tele Liban’s board of directors, said that Joreige was “positive, rational and objective” during the meeting.
“There was a serious discussion on how Lebanese stations can win back rights from the cable providers,” Makdessi said.
“Television stations provide the content and cable providers get their money from [their subscriptions]. But the stations end up getting nothing.”
“The meetings will continue and will address all areas of concern in order to secure the survival of Lebanese television stations.”
The delegation also held a meeting with legal advisers in order to establish their specific rights before they raise the issue with cable providers.
The meeting with Joreige comes four days after the same delegation held talks with Telecoms Minister Butros Harb.
During the meeting with Harb, the delegation called on the minister to cancel taxes on satellite news gathering equipment, and dues levied on the transmission of broadcast images to satellites stationed in Lebanon. It also called for decreasing the costs incurred by the use of landline phones, cellphones and the Internet.
Other changes are underway in Lebanese television. LBCI announced in a statement that it had begun steps to shift from analogue to digital broadcasting, in line with a Geneva treaty approved by the Lebanese government in 2012. The treaty stipulates that analogue broadcasting should stop before June 2015.
The channel said that as of Thursday, Lebanese would no longer be able to watch LBCI through antennae. The station will be available through cable, dish networks, on NileSat or through LBCI’s website, which will provide live streaming of its broadcasts.
The switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting has already been implemented in a number of countries, including the US. Aside from a better picture, the move allows for the establishment of new distribution networks and expands the potential for wireless innovation and services.
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