France suspends TTN broadcast

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 02 May 2007, 15:46 GMT]
France based GlobeCast, a satellite TV and radio channel distribution company, has stopped relaying Tamil Television Network (TTN), a Tamil diaspora Television, Wednesday evening, after receiving instructions from the French broadcasting authority, TTN officials in Paris told media.

The TTN, with 22,000 households among the Tamil diaspora in Europe and Middle East, is a Paris based Tamil television network, with more than 30 employees. It has been broadcasting entertainment and news programmes in Tamil for the past 7 years.

France's main regulatory body for public and private audio and visual content, the Conseil Superior de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), had instructed the GlobeCast, a subsidiary of France Telecom, to suspend relaying the TTN Wednesday.

The GlobeCast informed the decision by fax after suspending the satellite broadcast at 4:00 p.m.

The TTN administration was awaiting official clarification to explore legal avenues to deal with the matter, TTN officials told media in Paris.