BERLIN, March 6 (Reuters) – China’s state-owned CGTN television said it had resumed services via Germany’s Vodafone cable network after receiving approval from French media regulators.
Germany’s Vodafone, a unit of British telecommunications group Vodafone, had to stop distributing CGTN television on its cable service last month as a result of a media dispute between Britain and China.
CGTN has been distributed in Germany under a British license but French media regulator Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) says here on Wednesday that he took over as the relevant authority following Britain’s exit from the European Union.
“After receiving a confirmation letter from the French media regulator stating that CGTN’s rights to broadcast in Europe are under its jurisdiction, Vodafone Germany resumed distribution of CGTN and its Documentary channel at around 7 a.m. on March 5 via its cable service,” CGTN said in a statement. here.
The UK last month revoked a permit allowing CGTN to be distributed in the UK. This drew protests from China, which banned the BBC from its television network and limited its reach in Hong Kong.
Under the terms of the 1989 treaty on “transboundary television”, drawn up under the auspices of the Council of Europe, of which Britain remains a member, a distribution license in one European country applies over most continents.
France’s CSA says CGTN abides by standards such as information pluralism and refrains from incitement to hatred or violence.
“CSA will take great care that CGTN respects these legal requirements,” he said in the statement. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Emily Chow in Shanghai, John Irish in Paris, Editing by Ros Russell)