Sony Ent to appeal to Govt to reconsider AXN ban order

New Delhi, Jan 19 (UNI) The Sony Entertainment Ltd, which has exclusive right for distribution of foreign TV channel AXN banned by the government for airing ''obscene'' progammes, will appeal to the government to reconsider its decision.

''We will speak to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and tell them that we are a responsible broadcaster and will continue to be so in future too,'' Sony Entertainment CEO Kunal Dasgupta told UNI over phone from Mumbai.

Replying to a question, he said due process was followed before the action was taken by the Ministry.

An order for banning the channel for two months was issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting yesterday for telecasting the programme 'World's Sexiest Advertisements'.

I and B Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi had said the programme was against all norms of decency and affected public morality.

The ban will remain in force throughout the country till March 15, and the action has been taken under the Cable Television Networks(Regulation) Act, 1995, he said.

The Ministry had been issuing warnings to different foreign channels in the past for telecasting obscene programmes and had banned five to four channels for such programmes.

No action against foreign channels was possible before the downlinking guidelines came into force in 2005.

UNI