ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Saturday that the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) financially ruined the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) by selling broadcast rights of cricket events to a private TV channel for projecting their “anti-state narrative”.

“Former minister for information and broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain played the role of a facilitator in the crime on the directives of former prime minister Imran Khan and those involved in this crime could not be pardoned,” she said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

“Those who had attacked the PTV building during the 2014 sit-in through a well thought out conspiracy committed the financial murder of the PTV and sold the broadcast rights illegally to a private channel, ‘A Sports’ which until then did not have even a broadcast license when the process of bidding started,” she said.

The minister vowed that there would be no compromise on the rights of PTV and its broadcast rights would be returned to it at all cost.

The minister said that the PTV as the national broadcaster was the voice of the state and the national identity of Pakistan.

Moreover, she credited the PTV for giving inspiration to other broadcasters which came up with their own channels by following the PTV model.

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The information minister termed the media as the fourth pillar of the state as people get news and awareness through it.

The minister said that PTV Sports was the only screen from which the PTV collected revenue, whereas Rs 35 license fee to the PTV paid by the viewers being the other source of income.

The minister recalled that when the PTI government came to power in 2018, it claimed to transform the PTV and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) on the BBC model.

However, these claims just like false promises of 10 million jobs and fivc million houses turned out to be hollow slogans.

When in power, the PTI tried to auction off radio and PTV buildings to earn some money, the minister said.

Marriyum apprised that when the present government assumed the power in April, 2022, it was revealed that PTV Sports had signed an agreement with Group M and ARY for cricket broadcast rights.

The minister said it would have been easier for her to immediately talk to the press and make accusations against the previous government about this scam followed by their incarcerations, but she preferred first to hold a thorough inquiry.

“In April 2022, we set up a fact-finding committee to probe irregularities in the agreement signed between PTV and Group M of ARY.”

Under such an agreement, PTV as national broadcaster used to acquire sports including cricket telecast rights as by 16th September, 2021 these rights were with the PTV Sports Channel which generated revenue and telecast live cricket for the public, said the minister.

The minister said that these rights of the PTV were compromised by signing an agreement on September 16, 2021 as PTV Sports was robbed of its cricket telecast rights.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said that a sinister plan had been drawn up to transfer PTV’s cricket rights to another channel.

To fulfil this plot, the PTV Sports management approached the PTV Board claiming that it had no money to acquire rights, so it wanted to go for expression of interest.

This, she said, was the first time in the history of PTV that it had no money for this task. PTV was the company whose 100% shares were owned by the government of Pakistan as it had no need to make any advance payments for purchase of telecast rights, she remarked.

But the PTV Sports management told the PTV Board that they were in a financial crisis.

She said that an expression of interest was published in a newspaper on August 10, 2021, which included items related to public private partnership and bids were sought under this scheme.

The advertisement also sought expression of interest for conversion of PTV Sports from SD to HD.

Three days later an addendum was published with an amendment saying cable and satellite broadcasters were needed though this condition was not included in the pre-requisition notice for TEN Sports and ICC Rights when inviting bids.

Marriyum Aurangzeb said that terms of reference were later issued which were different from the expression of interest. The last date for filing bids was fixed on August 27, which opened the very next day i. e. August 28, 2021, she said.

Four companies including Group M. representing ARY, Blitz Advertisers, Tower Sports and Trade Chronicle had submitted their bids but the last firm was disqualified on technical grounds.

On August 28, 2021, she said that the review committee gave 182 marks to Blitz Advertisers bid out of 300, whereas Group M- ARY was awarded 167 points and Tower Sports 131 points.

The minister said that the review committee of the PTV signed the marks and issued a letter on August 28 which was signed by the Director Sports, Director Finance, Director Engineering, Chief Commercial Officer and Director Admin & Personnel.

The letter categorically stated that Blitz Advertisers had earned the most points and offered a better partnership deal, but some points will have to be discussed with it before inking the agreement with the company.

On the same day a note was sent to MD PTV stating that two of the three companies have been selected for further negotiations, though the committee had not asked for any such move, rather it had asked for further negotiation with Blitz Advertisers.

The committee had issued a letter to Blitz Advertisers with highest marks and it had previously partnered with PTV on a sports project.

She said that talks resumed on September 1, 2021 with the plan to make “the failed company a successful bidder” in the process.

On this occasion marks were changed, terms of reference were changed and remarking was done in complete violation of rules and procedure, Marriyum said.

In order to make the favorite firm successful, the PTV Board was informed that the PPRA rules did not apply to this agreement, which was not the case.

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