Samaa TV and Studio 66 TV were under investigation by broadcast regulator Ofcom over breaches to UK broadcasting rules.
Samaa TV was found guilty of broadcasting hate speech on two editions of its current affairs programme Nadim Malik Live. Its UK broadcast licence holder Up and Coming TV was fined £40,000. In August 2021, Up and Coming TV switched to a new provider, with Samaa replaced by Neo News. Neo News in turn ceased broadcasting on Sky in June. Last week, Samaa was relisted on the Sky channel list.
Ofcom says the sanctions levied on Up and Coming TV reflects the fact licence holders are responsible for the content they broadcast. This is also the case if they rebroadcast content from other channels into the UK.
Meanwhile, Studio 66 was fined £15,000 after its service broke rules on TV advertising. Ofcom ruled that on five occasions, advertising broadcasters featured explicit language and behaviour that had the “potential to harm or distress children.” Studio 66 is an adult channel. It left Freeview late last year, but continues on Sky.
Ofcom has in the past 18 months also fined China’s CGTN, Religious channel Loveworld and Asian channel KTV over various breaches. It comes as Ofcom takes a hard stance against repeat offenders of the UK broadcasting code.