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The government’s Amendment No. 49 of the Second Authority for Television and Radio Law-1990 (hereinafter, “the SATR Law”), submitted for public comment on 4 July 2024, proposes to extend the “transition period” during which major regulatory reliefs have been awarded to broadcasters defined as “micro license holders,” such as Channel 14, for yet another year beyond the six-and-a-half years stipulated in previous amendments in order to “enable them to keep operating in the same format they have operated to date.”
Defined as “infant industry protections” in 2018, these reliefs were meant to allow these broadcasters to “prepare” for the regulatory changes under Amendment No. 44, whose dispositions were more lenient toward them than to other broadcasters.
Zulat’s position is that there is no room for extending the transition period and the regulatory reliefs therein. Although these also apply to three other broadcasters, the extension awards governmental benefits specifically tailored to Channel 14’s needs. There was no reason in the first place to grant it any reliefs for five years under Amendment No. 44, there was no reason to extend these reliefs for an additional one-and-a-half years under Amendment No. 48, and as stated above, there is no reason or justification to extend them now for another year.