France’s Audiovisual and Digital Communication Authority (Arcom) has given Eutelsat formal notice to stop broadcasting the Russian channel NTV Mir.
In a statement dated July 27 and published on August 3, it specified a period of within 48 hours of notification of the decision.
Arcom went on to discuss programmes on NTV Mir, which is operated by NTV, one of the leading broadcasters in Russia, on April 14, 15,18, 20 and 24, that incited hatred or violence towards Ukraine, its leaders, army and population for “adhering to the Nazi ideology of the Third Reich and representing extreme danger”.
The regulator concluded by saying that the broadcasting of NTV Mir by Eutelsat “seriously infringes articles 3-1 and 15 of the law of September 30, 1986. Therefore it is necessary to address to this company this formal notice to cease broadcasting the ‘NTV Mir’ service”.
Broadband TV News notes that Eutelsat has previously stopped broadcasting the channels Russia Today (RT), RTR Planeta and Rossiya 24 following rulings by the EU.
However, despite widespread criticism, it continues to distribute channels on the Russian DTH platforms Tricolor and NTV-Plus.