On July 21, 2020, the federal cabinet discussed a proposed increase in the television licence fee collected through electricity bills from the present Rs 35 to Rs 100. However, after at least three ministers objected to the proposal, a decision was deferred till the next cabinet meeting. The dissenting ministers’ argument was that imposing the increase without taking the public into confidence was not the best course. Instead, the dire financial and operating crisis of the state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) should first be explained. It will come as no surprise to the viewing public that PTV is virtually on the verge of collapse, with an annual loss of Rs 14 billion, outdated equipment, etc., which has brought PTV to a state in which virtually no programme production is going on. Once bustling with activity, PTV studios throughout the country appear abandoned. The internal reasons for the decline too are not unknown. Once, the pride of the country, PTV, like so many other institutions such as Pakistan Steel Mills and PIA, has been run into the ground over the years. Information Minister Shibli Faraz of course trotted out the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government’s stock explanation for all that is wrong in the country by putting the blame on the corruption and flawed policies of the previous governments, but PTV’s malaise has been longer in gestation and existence. The main reason creativity and good programming, once the hallmark of PTV, have fallen by the wayside is the incrementally increasing total control over content by successive governments, causing a stifling atmosphere antithetical to sensitive and creative souls that PTV could boast of in its heyday. While the decline of professionalism and creativity because of government strictures was already well underway, the death blow may have been administered by the introduction of private satellite TV channels, the internet and social media. These developments completely altered the media landscape the world over, with Pakistan no exception. Now the contrast between PTV’s subservient and fawning on the government in power news programming stood out in bold relief when compared to these other sources of news and information, particularly the private TV channels.

To the extent that Shibli Faraz points to overstaffing without merit in the past, he may be correct. The figures show that whereas the budget for the 110 private TV channels is a total Rs 38 billion, the budget of PTV alone is Rs 22 billion. Of course the latter figure may be swelled not only by overstaffing costs, but also the fact that PTV is the only terrestrial channel (all the private ones are only satellite channels). While there is hardly any excuse or justification for overstaffing, and that too more likely on the basis of cronyism practiced by successive governments rather than professional merit, this terrestrial advantage could help PTV compete because of its unrivalled outreach, provided it is once again run by professionals as a state-owned but autonomous media organisation along the lines of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The days of treating PTV like the handmaiden of the government are truly over. If PTV is to survive, let alone thrive, in the intensely crowded and competitive media landscape today, it must say goodbye to the tightly controlled, sycophantic culture of yesteryear and embrace a new vision of professional excellence compatible with today’s global media industry. In its present shape and form the PTV does not serve the interest of the state as it has little or no credibility.