Australiaâs satellite operator said the move has been made out of âconcern about the situation in Ukraineâ
Australiaâs satellite operator, Foxtel, has notified RT on Saturday that it is suspending the channel's broadcast distribution in Australia as part of its services âin view of concern about the situation in Ukraine.â The operator will then further âconsiderâ its rights under the channel license agreement, it added, without elaborating on any potential additional measures.
Foxtel is a satellite operator covering all of Australiaâs territory and has its own over-the-top (OTT) server allowing media services to be offered to the audience directly via the internet. It has around 3.8 million clients.On Thursday, Poland removed RT, along with some other Russian broadcasters, from its cable and satellite networks as well as internet platforms.
Every time a government or a certain organization calls for RT to be taken off air or bans its broadcast it only demonstrates âthe fallacy of media freedomsâ in the nation it represents, RTâs deputy editor-in-chief, Anna Belkina, said in a statement on Saturday, responding to the latest decisions by Australia and Poland.
âRT journalists tirelessly work to bring valuable facts and views to an audience of millions around the world,â she said, adding that âif ever there were a time to recognize the importance of all fact-gathering news âĻ it is now.â
Even before the start of the Russian military operation, London had asked the regulator Ofcom to reconsider RTâs license to operate in the UK, accusing the company of being part of a âglobal disinformation campaign.â At that time, Belkina said that Ofcom had for a long time endorsed the channel as a license holder.
