Broadcom removes 100% Maldivian ownership for rebroadcasting
As Dhiraagu is partly foreign-owned, the regulation forced the company to halt its Dhiraagu TV operations.
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The Broadcasting Commission has repealed a 2022 amendment to the Rebroadcasting Rules that required licence holders to be fully Maldivian-owned, a change that had led to the suspension of Dhiraagu TV services.
The earlier rule, introduced in 2022 and gazetted at the time, mandated that rebroadcasting service providers be 100% Maldivian-owned. As Dhiraagu is partly foreign-owned, the regulation forced the company to halt its Dhiraagu TV operations.
The third amendment to the rules, published in the Government Gazette on Tuesday, removes the ownership restriction. As a result, companies that are not entirely Maldivian-owned will now be eligible to provide rebroadcasting services in the Maldives.
A member of the Broadcasting Commission told Atoll Times that the sector had seen little growth over the past three years and that the change was intended to prevent market monopolisation.
“This change had to be repealed to prevent the rebroadcasting sector from going into the hands of one group and being monopolised,” the member said.
