HANOI: A Vietnamese satellite television station said Thursday it had stopped broadcasting foreign channels including CNN, BBC and Star World to comply with a new media law that came into effect this week.
The channels, which already air with a 30-minute delay on live feeds to allow sensitive content to be blocked by government censors, were still widely available elsewhere in Vietnam Thursday, including on state-run giant VTV.
But K+, a joint venture between France's Canal+ and a local Vietnamese media company, said it had ceased providing 21 foreign channels to subscribers as it was "illegal" to broadcast them after the law came into effect May 15.
The new regulations originally said foreign channels must provide simultaneous translation of all content into Vietnamese, something that would likely have proven highly expensive and forced channels to cease broadcasting.
Vocal opposition from industry groups and foreign governments, especially those with national broadcasters, prompted authorities to revise the rule in March to require subtitles for films and documentaries only.
While experts say it remains unclear how the new regulations will be enforced, K+ became the first broadcaster to drop the channels after the law came into force on Wednesday.
"K+ is complying with the new regulations of the Ministry of Communications," a company spokeswoman Mai Nguyen told AFP.
"We just respect the law. We have had some questions from subscribers but we explain we are just following the regulations," she said, adding the station would reinstate the foreign channels if they complied with the law.
State-run VTV could not immediately be reached for comment.
Vietnam bans private media and all newspapers and television channels are state-run.
The country ranks a dismal 172 out of 179 countries on the latest Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.
The communist country, a one-party state that forbids political debate, routinely jails or places under house arrest activists and bloggers for publicly expressing dissent and challenging the communist party's rule. (AFP)
