RIYADH: As part of its campaign to crackdown on satellite TV pirates, the Ministry of Culture and Information is enforcing a nationwide ban on illegal TV decoder boxes and on continuing theft of pay TV signals, especially in commercial organizations and housing compounds.
The ministry has sought the help of the ministries of Commerce and Finance to impose the ban effectively and to restrict the imports of illegal decoders.
"The move marks a major milestone in the Kingdom's efforts to protect intellectual property rights," said Abdul Rahman Al-Hazzaa, deputy minister of culture and information.
Al-Hazzaa said the Ministry of Finance has issued directives to Saudi Customs to study strategies and implement them. The Commerce Ministry has also sent directives to its laboratories and associated departments to prevent the smuggling of illegal decoders through the country's ports of entry.
"The ministry has spearheaded this campaign to root out the problem of copyright piracy and there will be zero tolerance," he said. "We are working hard to ensure that the Kingdom become a regional leader in fighting piracy and we are currently aiming to impose tighter restrictions."
A walk through the major Saudi cities shows that the country has a long way to go to rooting out media piracy, not just in the form of television decoders but also of DVDs, computer games and even pirated electronic goods. It is common to find in major shopping areas stalls that sell nothing but pirated movies.
This latest initiative is just one of many steps the ministry has taken recently to ensure that importers of illegal TV decoder boxes will be eventually brought to book, Al-Hazzaa said.
He said that the Kingdom was taking a strong stance against piracy because it violates religious values, weakens the local economy, tarnishes the country's image and hurts consumers.
Al-Hazzaa said Saudi Arabia was a pioneer in pan-Arab satellite television, so it fully understands the implications of illegal decryption on the industry. This phenomenon victimizes companies that invest heavily in the acquisition of broadcasting rights, and also threatens thousands who work in the TV broadcasting sector, he added.
"From a consumer perspective it may seem like a good deal to buy these devices, but what they actually purchase is unreliable equipment that also makes them culpable," he said.
Commenting on the action taken by Saudi officials, Wisam Edghaim, Showtime's operations manager, said: "We commend the wise efforts of the officials against violators".
Referring to the need of intensified efforts to check media piracy, Abdul Mohsin Al-Joyan, regional director for Orbit Satellite Television, said: "We laud the tremendous efforts that will reduce piracy and prevent the entry of illegal devices into the Kingdom."
Illegal TV decoder boxes, which are used to decrypt pay TV channels, have been proliferating across the Gulf market, prompting countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar to implement aggressive campaigns to curb their import and sale.
Software engineer Arif Kamal, who works for a local IT company, said that buyers of these decoders end up being the biggest losers, since the decoders need frequent updates and maintenance.
For instance, stores selling these decoders claim that the devices will not require updates, but within months after making the purchase, customers will find that they are not able to view several channels because the TV broadcaster has changed its codes to prevent piracy, which means the illegal decoders will have to be updated again after paying more money, he explained.
He said that signal piracy of premium services like Showtime, Orbit, ART and various other services also continue to be a very serious problem in the Kingdom. Internet use and broadband penetration rate in Saudi Arabia are growing and the piracy is likely to grow with it.
By Ghazanfar Ali Khan
© Arab News 2009
