MANILA – ABS-CBN has complied with the cease and desist orders issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) as it shut down the operations of Sky Cable and Channel 43 on Tuesday night.
In NTC’s alias cease and desist order on late Tuesday, it said that ABS-CBN has to stop operating its digital TV transmission in Metro Manila using Channel 43 (644-650 mhz).
Affected by the said NTC order were ABS-CBN TV Plus channels Cine MO!, Yey!, TeleRadyo, Asianovela, Jeepney TV, and its pay-per-view channel Kapamilya Box Office.
In a separate cease and desist order, the NTC ordered ABS-CBN’s cable company, Sky Cable Corp., to “immediately” stop its SKY direct-to-home satellite transmission, which affected households with SKY Direct satellite dishes.
“Upon the expiration of R.A. No. 7969, Sky Cable Corporation no longer has a valid and subsisting congressional franchise to install, operate, or maintain a Direct Broadcast Satellite Service,” the order read.
The company is also required to refund its subscribers of all the amounts representing unconsumed prepaid, deposits on subscriber equipment and devices, deposit or advance payment in monthly charges for postpaid subscribers.
The NTC served the closure order to the broadcast giant a day after several members of the House of Representatives threatened to sue NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba before the Office of the Ombudsman.
ABS-CBN’s broadcast franchise has expired on May 4, while its license renewal bid is still pending in the House of Representatives. The NTC has ordered to halt broadcast on its free TV and radio channels on May 5.
Previously, media networks were allowed to continue operations despite the lapse of their broadcast franchise pending their application for license renewal before Congress./PN
