TV, radio stations will have to reapply for licensing under new broadcast laws

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo yesterday tabled proposed amendments to the broadcast legislation that would require all radio and television broadcasters to apply for licences within 30 days of the changes coming into force or face immediate closure of their operations.

Once enacted, the Broadcast (Amendment) Bill 2017 would also see the classification of all broadcasting operations into “commercial,” “non-commercial” or “community” services, the establishment of broadcasting zones across the country, and a mandatory requirement that all stations air “public service programmes” for up to 60 minutes a day, free of cost, between 6 am and 10 pm. The bill defines such broadcasts as “programmes produced for the purpose of informing and educating the public, and promoting policies and activities of the Government that benefit the public as a whole.”