28-02-2022, 08:23 AM
RT is a licenced channel that is free to air on satellite (and terrestrial).
The Sky (and other including Freeview) EPGs are heavily regulated by OFCOM, part of which is that where a channel meets the approved (by OFCOM) requirements it has to be carried. It can't be dropped by the owner of the EPG unless it breaches those requirements, and there is no possibility of amending the carriage to carry a caption or similar.
It is a very slippery slope to think that the providers of an EPG should consider the politics of a channel, or even worse adulterate a third party broadcast. It is because of the importance of the EPG to viewing that they are regulated. We have a regulator whose job as well as regulating that EPGs meet the fair and reasonable test is to licence channels. Where properly licenced, broadcast, and meeting the rules, an EPG owner can't drop a channel.
The Sky (and other including Freeview) EPGs are heavily regulated by OFCOM, part of which is that where a channel meets the approved (by OFCOM) requirements it has to be carried. It can't be dropped by the owner of the EPG unless it breaches those requirements, and there is no possibility of amending the carriage to carry a caption or similar.
It is a very slippery slope to think that the providers of an EPG should consider the politics of a channel, or even worse adulterate a third party broadcast. It is because of the importance of the EPG to viewing that they are regulated. We have a regulator whose job as well as regulating that EPGs meet the fair and reasonable test is to licence channels. Where properly licenced, broadcast, and meeting the rules, an EPG owner can't drop a channel.