Aug 01, Kathmandu- 70 foreign TV channels broadcasting in Nepal have been shut down as the government did not provide proper facilities for royalty payment to foreign television channels.

The television distributor said that the channel had cut off the Nepalese line since last night. Among them are India's leading television networks Star, Sony, Zee and Colors. About 70 TV channels are being broadcast in Nepal in the package of these four networks. According to the distributors, the channel stopped broadcasting in Nepal because they did not get the payment facility.

The government has not given the same facility for royalty payment to foreign television distributors as it has not implemented the A la carte system which was implemented since last year. Since the government decided to implement A la carte on 15th Chaitra 2079, after that the distributors have not got the same facility for payment to foreign channels. Net TV distributes Star and Zee television channels in Nepal, while Mega Max Digital is working as a distributor of Sony, Colors and other television channels. Television distributors have said that they are yet to pay Rs 350 million to both these companies. Currently, there is a dispute between television distributors, service providers and the government about whether the A la carte system has been implemented or not.

Television service providers say that they have given the customer the option to select and use a channel according to the A la carte system, but this system is implemented because it is the customer's choice whether or not to use it. The government has been saying that a separate application or a similar system should be made for A la carte, as it has not been done so, it is not applicable.

According to the National Broadcasting Regulations, 2052, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has arranged that cable, MAO, DTH, IPTV, MMDS, DTTB, the organizations that distribute the signals of television channels in Nepal can only charge according to this system. The ministry claimed that such a system was implemented to make the fees charged by television from consumers transparent, systematic and scientific.