TV channels to continue broadcasting via Nilesat

Local TV channels broadcasting through Nilesat will continue to do so but from Cairo after the Egypt-based satellite provider stopped operating from Jouret al-Ballout in Metn, according to Minister of Information Ramzi Joreige.

A statement from Nilesat said that it stopped broadcasting from Lebanon because the contract signed with the Government had expired. The reason for halting local operations should disappear once the license is renewed, unless there are other causes, Joreige said. The Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Telecommunications informed Nilesat of their intention of renewing the license, he said.

Nilesat also stopped broadcasting programs by Al-Manar Channel claiming they included contents that could provoke sectarian strife. The Egyptian Broadcasting Company said that Hezbollah’s channel breached an agreement between them.

Nilesat follows in the footsteps of Saudi satellite provider Arabsat and Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV both of which ended their operations in Lebanon amid political tension between local political factions and Gulf States.