Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV)’s state monopoly ended in 2002 when the market for the electronic media was liberalised.

This led to the growth in new private TV channels today that transmit soaps, news, drama and talk shows to the millions of viewers. These private channels have been issued licenses for cable or satellite only, which means that PTV is the only channel that provides terrestrial services to the population.

After the de-regulation of Electronic Media sector, the TV sector remains vibrant. There are now more than 80 TV Channels out of which 15 are major news channels and the remaining cater for entertainment, music and religion.

Pakistani media consumers currently have low capacity to consume digital media offerings, which have significantly expanded over the past decade. Digital consumption of television remains low due to the lack of infrastructure for transmission and consumption. According to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), there are only 12 million television sets in the country, approximately one for every 14 people while private surveys put the number at about 18 million.

Given that there are 86 million television viewers in Pakistan, this low number indicates that communal television watching is popular. More than half of these viewers are only able to access state-run, analog terrestrial broadcasts while 38 million viewers can access digital satellite channels that are primarily distributed via analog cables owing to the high cost of purchasing satellite dishes.

In 2010, PEMRA introduced a fee structure and rules governing digital cable television transmission, and has called for a complete switch-over to digital cable by 2015. However, digital cable television still has an extremely limited reach due to the high cost of set-top boxes and slow adoption of digital infrastructure by cable companies.

As a result of media reforms introduced by the Government, the television market was bisected between state-owned terrestrial broadcasters and privately owned satellite and cable television channels.

In the past decade, Pakistan has shifted from a predominantly terrestrial broadcasting (69.6% of TV households in 2005) to an even split between terrestrial and cable television by 2010. According to one national survey, satellite and cable television access vary considerably by region; 93% of television viewers in Karachi – Pakistan’s largest city – have access to satellite channels via cable. A BBC survey further revealed that 69% of the urban population had access to satellite and cable television compared to 11% in rural areas.

Satellite service consumption dropped from 6.5% in 2005 to less than 4% of television-owning households by 2010, due to the lower costs and accessibility from cable television connections. Multi-channel Multi-point Distribution Service (MMDS), a form of wireless cable via broadband networking – available to a limited extent – provides access to over 80 channels for 330,500 subscribers.

Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL), the largely state-owned telecoms corporation, is the only company currently holding an operational IPTV license. Additionally, three private companies have obtained mobile television licenses, and are also providing this service.

Although the 2002 liberalisation of Pakistan’s broadcast media market led to an unprecedented growth that is often described as a ‘media boom’, concerns about the diversity of news sources persist. Approximately, half the population of Pakistan continues to have limited news access as terrestrial broadcasts by the state-owned PTV are the principal source of information in most rural, underdeveloped areas. The rapid growth of cable and satellite television channels has made a wide range of news sources, both local and foreign, available in the major cities and towns. As of 2011, more than 20 Urdu- and regional-language private news channels dominated local content viewership.

A report by International Media Support, an international non-profit organisation that supports local media in more than 50 countries, describes Pakistan’s media landscape as reflecting a multi-linguistic, multi-ethnic and class-divided society. The English media is urban and elite-centric, and is more liberal and professional compared to the Urdu media. English print, television and radio channels have far smaller audiences than their Urdu counterparts, but have greater influence among opinion makers, politicians, the business community, and the upper strata of society.

In the past decade, television has emerged as the primary source of news, where a saturated market of more than 20 privately owned news channels have revolutionised the media landscape. These are 24-hour news channels offering breaking news and headlines on the hour as well as current affairs programming, documentaries, special reports, and political talk shows. However, growing competition from entertainment channels has led news channels to include morning shows that focus on society, culture and food rather than news content and satirical political shows. Local news channels have also introduced crime reports that include dramatic re-enactments of registered crimes such as murder and domestic violence, filmed in the manner of drama serials. Also, during the Muslim’s holy month of Ramadan, many news channels broadcast religious programming.

Viewership trend

PTV’s terrestrial news broadcasts still dominate viewership, with PTV Home, ranking among the top five in a list of all television channels in Pakistan (terrestrial and cable/satellite). Cable and satellite ratings indicate that the most watched cable channel in Pakistan are the privately owned channels which rank high in terms of ratings and reach. In 2013, five channels cumulatively held the highest market share of the news category with 69% of viewership, as calculated by electronically measuring results from 675 urban households for the consumed proportion of a given channel, measured against total TV consumption.

Over the last decade, the state’s monopoly over broadcasting has significantly diminished due to the rapid increase in the number of private television channels, FM radio stations, and expanded internet access. Since 2002, 89 private television channels have been launched and 26 foreign channels have been granted landing rights (i.e. permission from PEMRA to distribute a foreign satellite channel in Pakistan). Examples are global news channels such as BBC, CNN, Sky News, and Al Jazeera.

The diversification of the media market has challenged the historic dominance of the state-owned PTV. A 2008 BBC survey found that PTV News was no longer the most watched news channel in the country, and that television viewers in higher socio-economic classes were increasingly tuning in to private news channels rather than PTV.

Additionally, cable service operators broadcast numerous foreign – particularly Indian – channels as well as CD channels (in-house channels that show foreign films and music). The popularity of private television channels can be gauged by the fact that satellite channels received 80% (PKR 15.624 billion, approximately US$195 million) of television advertising spent in 2013, while the terrestrial channels received 20% (PKR 4.026 billion, US$41 million).

The availability of foreign channels has led to a surge in the popularity of Indian entertainment channels. Meanwhile, the growth of independent Pakistani news channels has diverted audiences from traditional news sources such as PTV and the BBC Urdu Service.

Overall, in 2013, in-house channels (owned and managed by cable operators broadcasting entertainment content) captured 20% of market share, followed by foreign entertainment (19%), news (17%), and regional-language channels (4%).

Television news Programmes

The significant decline of viewership for PTV News means that the most popular news bulletins are on commercial, satellite and cable television channels. Popular news programmes on television include the primetime news bulletins, broadcasted on most private news channels at 9pm, whereas pre-primetime bulletins and shows are broadcasted from 6pm until primetime.

Post deregulation scenario

The liberalisation and growth of independent news media in Pakistan are an unprecedented development and have greatly affected news production and consumption, far more so at this stage than digitisation in the form of growing internet access. The greater availability of news media via satellite and cable television and the internet has enabled more information to reach wider segments of the population.

This has led to greater government accountability, and fostered a culture of news media consumption, with the ratings of privately owned shows rivaling those of state controlled and foreign entertainment offerings. The introduction of regional-language television channels has also enhanced feelings of representation and inclusion among Pakistan’s diverse ethnic groups.

As media scholar Marcus Michelson concluded, “The media has certainly contributed to a re-initiation of Pakistan’s democratic transition.”

The television sector has experienced the biggest growth of news providers and the diversity of news content is significantly hampered by strong competition and the industry’s commercial model, where channels are vying for advertising revenue on the basis of target rating points. The ratings race leads to an echo effect as a result of which certain news items are overemphasised while other issues, particularly public-interest stories pertaining to governance, education, health care, public works, etc., remain unreported. Therefore, despite the explosion in the number of independent news providers, news coverage itself has not become sufficiently diverse or inclusive.

Prospects

The liberalisation of the broadcast media landscape has led to greater media independence, diversity, and pluralism between 2002 and 2007.

The media has been hailed in the past decade for facilitating the country’s democratic transition, highlighting the plight of minorities, victims of natural disasters, and refugees, and exposing governmental corruption. However, increased competition and rampant cross-media ownership since 2007 have undermined gains in media freedom and diversity.

The financial model of the privately owned media, whereby revenues are generated almost exclusively from government or private-sector advertising based on ratings, has discouraged innovation and public service programming in order to secure advertising revenue.

Media owners are increasingly willing to provide positive coverage of or defend the vested interests of political and business elites, thus undermining their outlets’ independence. In the race for high ratings, television channels often mimic each other’s programming or sensationalise news coverage, leading to less diversity and poorer quality of the news content. The media groups’ inability to generate advertising revenue outside major urban centres and ratings-focused programming also discourage reports that are only relevant at a local level to certain communities, meaning that marginalised groups have yet to find a voice in the mainstream media.

Pakistan has not initiated a digital switch-over, and there are few civil society demands for media digitisation owing to a lack of information and understanding about the benefits of digitisation. Media digitisation would, however, enable greater plurality in the media landscape as well as improve media access for people across the country.

The majority of Pakistani television news channels are operating at a loss. In the next five years, these channels will either be bought out by larger, more successful media groups, thus further concentrating media ownership, or will switch to entertainment and infotainment programming for higher ratings, a trend that will reduce the amount of independent news coverage generated in the country. There will be a growth of news and entertainment channels in regional languages. As Pakistan is going through a period of political devolution from the federal to the provincial level, these channels are likely to be backed by provincial politicians seeking greater influence. However, the advertising revenue-based financial model of regional channels will lead to the same shortcomings that have been documented in the national media: sensationalised news coverage, poor fact-checking, biased reporting, and copycat content.

Media penetration through television and internet access in semi urban areas will continue to grow as cable operators expand their network and continue to digitise head ends. The digitisation of terrestrial broadcasts also seems unlikely in the next five years.