Dhiraagu discontinues TV; to license service

Dhiraagu on Saturday announced plans to discontinue its TV service from 29 January after negotiations and lobbying efforts failed to change a recent amendment by the Maldives Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom) to prohibit issuing re-broadcasting licences to foreign-owned companies.

As per the rules amended by Broadcom in January:

In a statement on Saturday, Dhiraagu said its rebroadcasting license will expire on 29 January.

Dhiraagu said its board has made the difficult decision to discontinue the DhiraaguTV and DhiraaguPlay service and mitigate any further loss. As per the regulation, the company is required to give a 30-day notice before we can discontinue our service.

"Therefore, 29 January 2023 will be the last day of DhiraaguTV and DhiraaguPlay service," the statement read.

"Throughout the year, Dhiraagu have assertively engaged with all relevant authorities to try and resolve the matter and continue offering our DhiraaguTV and DhiraaguPlay service in a fair and sustainable regulatory environment."

According to the company, the uncertainty around the license has also resulted in Dhiraagu not being able to grow the business as it had planned and lead to losses. 

Dhiraagu said its priority has been to try to find a solution which will not deprive DhiraaguTV customers from having choices and options for a consistent good quality IPTV service, irrespective of where they may reside. 

The company said it has been in discussion with a number of parties who approached us expressing their interest to provide rebroadcasting services. They have agreed to provide their IPTV/OTT network as a service to a newly licensed rebroadcaster, SS Network Pvt Ltd. 

"Dhiraagu has planned for their customers to conveniently opt-in for the new rebroadcaster's service.  Further details will be communicated to all DhiraaguTV and DhiraaguPlay customers in the coming weeks," the statement read.