Pakistan regulator issues three DTH licences

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has awarded three licences to operate direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services.

Mag Entertainment, Shahzad Sky and Startimes Communication are the lucky bidders who will now run DTH operations in Pakistan for 15 years, after a long bidding contest between 12 shortlisted companies.

“The current analogue distribution system is offering a maximum of 80 channels while the DTH would increase the capacity to around 120, and each local DTH licence holder is expected to have at least 500,000 subscribers,” said Absar Alam, Chairman, PEMRA. He congratulated all the bidders who participated and added that it took the country 14 years to convert to DTH broadcast technology.