Ofcom revokes UK TV licence of Ausaf TV before its launch

Ofcom has revoked the licence of Ausaf TV ahead of its UK launch.

The media regulator made its decision on an investigation it carried out. Ausaf TV, was to serve the Pakistani community in the UK, but had not started broadcasting at the time of Ofcom’s decision.

The investigation concluded:

-The individual in control of Ausaf UK Limited had close links to the Pakistan and UK editions of the Daily Ausaf newspaper, in which articles were published which we considered amounted to hate speech and incitement to crime/terrorist actions;
the licensee provided misleading or false information about the links between the Daily Ausaf and Ausaf UK Limited during the course of our investigation; and
-There is a material risk that the licensee could breach our broadcasting rules; for example, by airing similar content to that published in the Daily Ausaf on Ausaf TV, which would be harmful to viewers if the licensee were permitted to broadcast; and
this brings into question public confidence in the regulatory activity if Ofcom were to remain satisfied that the licensee was fit and proper to broadcast.
-In light of these serious findings, we are no longer satisfied that that those in control of Ausaf UK Limited are fit and proper to hold a broadcast licence. We have therefore revoked the licence.

The full outcome is available on Ofcom’s website here.

The channel will not be able to broadcast in the UK.