Hannibal TV banned from football stadiums

An announcement by the Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) on 24 March that only the state television channel will henceforth have access to players' dressing rooms and other non-public areas in stadiums during league, cup and international matches constitutes an act of censorship against Hannibal TV, Tunisia's first privately-owned television channel, Reporters Without Borders said today. "The Tunisian authorities cannot open up broadcasting to the private sector and at the same time prevent Hannibal TV from working and from covering events such as football matches," the press freedom organization said, suggesting that the ban was linked to the success of the station's sports programmes. The organization added: "The country's first privately-owned TV station is not even allowed to talk freely about sport. That says a lot about the attitude of the Tunisian authorities when they talk of 'liberalizing the news media.' One can easily imagine the censorship that is brought to bear on Hannibal TV on more sensitive subjects than football." The stadium ban on Hannibal TV came after it carried reports about corruption in sport, a subject carefully avoided by the state-owned TV stations. Sports programmes are amount the most popular programmes in Tunisia and attract many advertisers. The FTF's federal office announced that: "Television stations other than the ERTT (the state radio and TV broadcaster) are banned from accessing the secure areas and dressing rooms. The match supervisor will ensure that this measure is adhered to and will give permission for interviews after the match. Clubs that have private arrangements or contracts with other TV stations must inform the Federation." When Hannibal TV was launched, President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali said he wanted to ensure that "freedom of expression constitutes the basic rule in the elaboration of Tunisia's approach to news and information." The Tunisian authorities decided to open up broadcasting to the private sector in November 2003. A privately-owned radio station, Radio Mosaïque, started up, offering mainly music, and was a big success. The launch of Hannibal TV on 13 February 2005, broadcasting digitally on the Nilesat and Arabsat satellites, ending the two state-owned channels' monopoly on TV broadcasting.