The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) is a public service media company based in Pakistan. The company commenced operations as Radio Pakistan in 1947 and was subsequently rebranded as Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation in 1972.
Media assets
Radio: News & Current Affairs Channel 24/7, FM 101, FM 93, Dhanak FM 94
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
PBC was established in line with the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Act of 1973. The corporation was established as a limited liability company and is wholly owned by the government. PBC operates as a department within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The PBC Board, the highest governance structure of PBC, consists of government-appointed members. All 11 PBC members are appointed by or represent various state institutions. The chair position is filled by the secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, four members representing each of Pakistan’s four provinces are appointed by the Federal Government, one is the director of the media and PR division of Pakistan’s army, and the rest are also government appointees. One of the members serves as the PBC’s general director, appointed by the Federal Government.
In June 2024, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting submitted a proposal to the government requesting the categorisation of PBC as a “strategic state-owned enterprise” with the option of privatizing the broadcasters at a later date.
Source of funding and budget
According to data, released by PBC in December 2019, the operator had in 2018 a budget of PKR 5.5bn (US$ 34.5m). In excess of 94% of the total was comprised of a grant-in-aid from the federal government, with the remainder derived from advertising revenue. The broadcaster frequently encounters financial constraints, which led to the termination of hundreds of employees in 2020.
In order to address these issues, the Pakistani government introduced a license fee in July 2023, which is included in the electricity bill paid by each household in Pakistan. This fee is intended to generate revenue for the PBC. The new television fee is expected to result in a total monthly charge of PKR 50 (US$ 0.17) for households, with PKR 15 of that amount allocated to radio.
In the fiscal year 2022-2023, PBC received a total of PKR 562.8m (US$ 2.34m) to cover costs related to special projects.
Editorial independence
PBC has long been regarded as a government-aligned media outlet, with its editorial coverage subject to close government and censorship oversight. However, following the 2018 elections that brought the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, to power, a series of measures aimed at relaxing the environment for freedom of expression were implemented. One of the key measures was the decision to lift the editorial censorship at all state-run media outlets, including PBC.
This has not been a long-lasting arrangement. The following year, the government was criticized by media freedom NGOs for suspending privately owned television channels. Local journalists concur with the assessments of international media watchdogs that the state of media freedom in Pakistan has deteriorated significantly over the past two years. They contend that journalists are currently facing the most challenging circumstances in the country’s history.
Despite recent reports indicating that PBC is not editorially controlled, local journalists from Dawn, an independent newspaper in Pakistan, highlighted that the government maintains tight control over the channel, despite promises made by the Prime Minister two years ago. In particular, with regard to sensitive coverage, the PBC is fully compliant with the requests of the army.
There is no domestic legislation in place, nor is there an independent assessment or oversight mechanism, that would validate the independence of PBC.
September 2024