On June 6, cable operators in Andhra Pradesh, India, blocked the transmission of four channels - Sakshi TV, TV9, NTV, and 10TV.

According to media reports, the channels were blocked for reporting on the ‘Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which defeated the incumbent Yuvajana Sramika Rythu (YSR) Congress Party in state-level elections.’

M9 channel, a local news website, reported, “YSR Congress complained to TRAI about the ‘illegal blocking’ of some TV channels including TV9, NTV, 10TV, and Sakshi by the Cable TV operators association in Andhra Pradesh”.

Five days after blocking the channels, on June 11, S. Niranjan Reddy, a parliament member and member of the YSR Congress Party, wrote to the chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority to ban the channels. He said this was a violation under the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations and how this impacted press freedom and the public’s right to information.

The IFJ declared: “The IFJ is extremely concerned about the deteriorating situation of freedom of expression and free media in India. It condemns cable operators banning channels and requests the Provincial Government of Andhra Pradesh to resolve this issue and get the channels back on air as soon as possible. Also, in the future, ensure that cable operators are unable to disrupt the transmission of channels as this is a breach of their freedom of expression and free media.”