Three media groups that claim to have 85 percent of local Kenyan TV viewership say they have been locked out of the process of digital migration in Kenya and are suing the government for discrimination, according to HumanIPO.
Nation Media Group, Standard Media Group and Royal Media Services say the Communications Commission of Kenya is locking them out of the digital migration process, the report said.
The Communications Commission of Kenya gave exclusive rights to local pay-TV channels to oversee the digital migration, set to begin in Nairobi in December, according to HumanIPO.
A court petition filed by media groups said, “There is no rational or lawful (explanation) as to why the existing broadcasters have not been licensed to be digital signal distributors despite a government task-force recommendation.”
The media groups say the Communications Commission of Kenya violated their intellectual property rights by allowing StarTimes Media Kenya, Signet Kenya, Pan African Network Group and GoTV Kenya to intercept and transmit their programs.
The groups have been pushing for a third signal distributor license to be managed by the Media Owners’ Association, HumanIPO reports.
