Broadcasts from private TV channels in North Cyprus will be suspended from midnight unless back payments are made to Turksat.
From 2015, state-run broadcaster BRTK made an agreement with Turksat to pay for state broadcasts only. From that time, private TV companies have had to make a contribution to Turksat for airtime, by paying BRT who then forwarded the premiums to Turksat.
According to Yeniduzen, since 2018, previous governments have failed to forward private TV channel payments, who now face a blackout.
Prime Minister Ersan Saner said that the Ministry of Finance was trying to raise the funds to prevent this from happening.
Meanwhile, the Cyprus Turkish Journalists Union (KTGB) stated that the suspension of broadcasts of private television channels in the TRNC from the Türksat satellite because of debt, would be a blow to press freedom and a black stain on the history of the press. The Union of Journalists wants the government to resolve the problem as a matter of urgency.
