Iran’s Press TV predicts it will be banned in UK

Rebecca Hawkes ©RapidTVNews | 17-10-2011

Britain is preparing to ban Press TV according to the network, although UK regulator Ofcom says no decision has yet been made on the measures it will take against the Iranian state news broadcaster.
In May Ofcom ruled that Press TV had broken broadcasting rules in airing a 2009 interview with Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek correspondent who had been threatened with death by his then-captors unless he participated in a scripted televised interview.
Bahari, who was held on charges of spying after the disputed Presidential elections in Iran, has since been released.
Ofcom has ruled that Press TV failed to make it clear that Bahari was speaking against his will and was held under duress. It also unfairly claimed him to be biased.
"We haven't made any final decision on sanctions yet, but one will be made within the next few weeks," said Ofcom spokesman Rhys Hurd.
In cases such as these where broadcasters fall short of UK broadcasting standards, "all possible sanctions are considered. This varies from a fine to a license being revoked," added Hurd.
Ofcom declined to comment on claims Press TV has made that the British royal family has influenced the independent regulator's move against the Iranian network.
Press TV is the 24 hour English language satellite news service of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which broadcasts to the world as an alleged antidote to the "domineering empire of the Western media".
In the UK, Press TV is available on the Sky TV platform via Eutelsat's Hotbird 1.
The reception of satellite television is outlawed within Iran, although in practice the ban is widely flouted. International news services such as BBC Persia are regularly subject to satellite jamming by Iran to restrict their reach.