The Civil Court of Maldives has issued an interim order to keep DhiraaguTV’s license until the court decides on the case filed by Dhiraagu over Maldives Broadcasting Commission’s (MBC) decision not to renew their license.
The amended Licensing Regulations for Rebroadcasting of Maldives Broadcasting Commissions (MBC) states that the applicant for rebroadcast should be a 100% Maldivian-owned company. With Bahrain company, BTC Islands Limited (Batelco) holding 52% of the shares, Dhiraagu’s application for renewal of the rebroadcasting license was swiftly rejected by Broadcom following the amendment to Licensing Regulations.
Dhiraagu filed a civil lawsuit against Broadcom following the rejection. Dhiraagu claims that the Broadcasting Commission’s decision not to renew the license of DhiraaguTV was in violation of Article 28 of the Broadcasting Act.
Moreover, Dhiraagu has applied for the renewal of the rebroadcasting license within the period stipulated in the Broadcasting Act and the suit seeks an order against the Broadcasting Commission to renew the license of Dhiraagu TV.
The Civil Court issued the interim order saying that Dhiraagu had made a substantial investment in bringing in the rebroadcasting service and the transaction involved third party rights.
Dhiraagu has previously stated that they remained hopeful to renew DhiraaguTV’s rebroadcasting license and has warned of a monopoly by Medianet in the rebroadcasting sector.
