Bakom drops U1 TV

 Cablecom may remove U1 TV from its offering. In the opinion of the Federal Office of Communications, the program of the Zurich-based private television station does not meet the conditions for an obligation to switch on. This was announced by Bakom in a press release on Wednesday. In order for OFCOM to oblige a cable network operator to broadcast a channel free of charge, it must make a particular contribution to fulfilling the constitutional mandate. The constitution requires contributions to opinion-forming, information and education, the promotion of Swiss culture and consideration of federal diversity, writes OFCOM. U1 TV has not been able to demonstrate that the program provides the required services. Both the main channel and the newly launched sports channel had too many unknowns. In addition, U1 broadcasts numerous programs that are financed by fee-based telephone services and in some cases contradict the constitutional performance mandate.
U1 TV has announced that it will appeal against the decision by OFCOM. "We terminated the contracts with the erotic providers at the end of the year in response to Bakom's complaint. We would have done the same with the value-added telephone services if we had known that Bakom would take issue with them," U1 spokesperson Peter Heeb told the press. The successful show by cartomancer Mike Shiva would also be terminated if necessary if it endangered the continued existence of the station.