Law: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance (XIII of 2002)

Section: 2(hb),23(2),39(e)

Law: Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Rules, 2009

Section: Rr.13(3),13(4)

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance (XIII of 2002)--- ----Ss. 2(hb), 23(2) & 39(e)---Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Rules, 2009, Rr. 13(3) & 13(4)---PEMRA (Eligibility Criteria and Bidding Procedure for Direct to Home Distribution Service Licensing) Regulations 2016, Regln. 2.11---Rules 13(3) & 13(4) of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Rules, 2009, vires of---Direct to Home ("DTH") licences---Broadcasters barred from holding a distribution licence---Exclusion of broadcasters from the bidding process for DTH licences---Legality---Section 23(2) of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002 enjoined upon Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ("PEMRA") a duty to prevent monopolies in the field of broadcasting and distribution---Prevention of monopolies was therefore necessary as meaningful choice was only possible in the presence of genuine competition---Vertical and horizontal integration in the field would both tend to restrict choice---Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ("PEMRA") was of the view that vertical integration, which would come about as a result of the broadcasters being allowed to also hold distribution licences, would be detrimental to the public interest in that it would stifle choice which PEMRA was mandated to encourage, therefore, to exclude such vertical integration PEMRA framed R. 13(4) of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Rules, 2009, whereby a broadcaster was barred from also holding a distribution licence---Broadcasters' Fundamental Rights were not violated due to R. 13(4) as Art. 18 of the Constitution allowed for the regulation of businesses---Such regulation may be in the form of licences which carried certain conditions to protect the public interest---In the present matter, the public interest was best served by ensuring that the "media market" was one where genuine competition prevailed---Purported violation of the broadcasters' Fundamental Right to compete for and acquire a distribution licence in addition to its broadcasting licence(s) could not be used against the broader public interest of genuine…

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