Key Cabinet decisions have been taken regarding state-owned broadcasters, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC), and the Independent Television Network (ITN).
Firstly, the Cabinet has approved the proposal for the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation to be maintained as separate state enterprises with their own identities.
The government states approval was granted at the Cabinet meeting held in November 2023, in principle, for SLBC and SLRC to merge and be established as a single state company. Accordingly, recommendations were forwarded by the State Enterprise Restructuring Unit as to how a state company should be established by merging SLBC and SLRC under the Company Act.
However, as further action was not taken in this respect so far, it was identified that the expected results could not be achieved by merging these two institutions due to various reasons, such as the different technologies used by the two broadcasters, the larger space required by SLRC compared to SLBC for recording, and the transmission towers being located in different places.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Mass Media to continue SLBC and SLRC as two separate enterprises with their own identities by increasing operational efficiency and revenue status through a strategic business plan.
Secondly, the Cabinet approved the proposal to enhance and maintain the broadcasting activities of the Independent Television Network (ITN).
The government states that the Independent Television Network, inaugurated as the first ever television channel in the country, is operated as a company with 100% share rights to the General Treasury.
However, due to producing programmes utilizing age-old computer appliances and outdated software, it has been problematic to broadcast attractive programmes with high quality and competitively in the field.
As such, considering a proposal by the Minister of Mass Media, the Cabinet decided to allocate provisions for supplying essential appliances for ITN on a priority basis from the budget 2026 so that subscriber attraction can be enhanced and broadcasting can be continued without disruption. (Newswire)