The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Tuesday ordered ABS-CBN to shut down its subsidiary’s direct broadcast satellite service SKY Direct and terminate TVPlus transmissions in Metro Manila.
Sky Cable Corp., ABS-CBN’s cable company, was directed to “immediately cease and desist” operating its SKY Direct services nationwide.
NTC said the expiration of Republic Act No. 7969 last May 4, which the commission also cited in ordering the shutdown of ABS-CBN, invalidated Sky Cable’s congressional franchise “to install, operate and maintain a direct broadcast satellite service.”
The regulatory body said that while Sky Cable was granted a provisional authority to operate and maintain a digital broadcast service from 2015 to 2021, its franchise expired on May 4.
NTC also issued the ABS-CBN subsidiary a show-cause order, telling Sky Cable to explain within 10 days why its radio frequencies 14421-14457 MHz and 12673-12709MHz should not be recalled.
Sky Cable was also ordered to refund all subscribers unconsumed prepaid loads, deposits on subscriber equipment and devices, advance payments for monthly charges for postpaid subscribers, and charges collected from new applicants.
ABS-CBN also received a cease-and-desist order prohibiting its TVPlus broadcast in Metro Manila using Channel 43.
NTC said Channel 43 was included in the list of radio and TV stations that ABS-CBN was ordered to stop operating under the cease-and-desist order it issued on May 5.
ABS-CBN went off-air last May 5 after a cease-and-desist order was issued by NTC due to the expiration of its broadcast franchise the day before.
Five AM radio stations, 18 FM radio stations, 42 TV stations, and 10 digital terrestrial television broadcasting stations under ABS-CBN Corp. were also ordered to halt operations.
President Rodrigo Duterte, who has taken issue with the Lopez-owned network’s news coverage and accused it in 2016 of refusing to air his campaign ad despite accepting payment, vowed to block ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal last year. John Ezekiel J. Hirro
Hanggang kilan ang order na signing off ang sky direct. Kung wala na makukuha ba ang payment or may pera ba kaming makuha dahil bumili kami ng sky direct pero ngayon wala ng palabas.