UK watchdog revokes ARY Network licences

The British media watchdog has revoked the broadcast licence of a prominent Pakistani media group after it went into liquidation last month.
The ARY Network was the holder of six television licences, broadcasting predominantly Urdu-language content in the UK.
The Office of Communications (Ofcom), UK's independent media regulator, had opened an investigation into the network which is now concluded.
"Following both written and oral representations from ARY Network (in liquidation), Ofcom was satisfied that ARY Network had ceased to provide the licensed services and that it was appropriate for it to revoke the licences," Ofcom said in a statement this week.

ARY Network held six Television Licensable Content Service (TLCS) licences granted under the UK's Broadcasting Act 1990. These licences were used to broadcast ARY Digital, ARY QTV, ARY News, ARY World News, QTV-Islamic Education Channel, and ARY Entertainment.
Ofcom was notified last week that the network stopped its trading on December 31, 2016 and was put into voluntary liquidation on January 12 this year.
ARY is a subsidiary of the ARY Group of companies based in Dubai. The company's bankruptcy in the UK follows a libel suit filed in London by rival Geo Television.