Welcoming the move to force ad-free or 'clean feed' broadcasting of foreign channels, Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO) on Saturday urged all relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the government in implementing the decision.

"The clean feed legislation is 15 years old. It should have been implemented long ago,” ATCO Senior Vice President Mozammel Haque Babu noted in a virtual press conference Saturday evening.

"The balance between clean feed and digitalisation will benefit all stakeholders," said Babu, managing director of Ekattor TV.

Regarding the blackout of foreign TV channels in the last few days, he said that the decision was taken by cable operators, not the government.

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Cable Operators Association Of Bangladesh (COAB) have shown interest in holding dialogue with the government over the matter, Babu further informed.

Mobile courts started operating from October 1 under the direction of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to implement ad-free or cleanfeed broadcasting of foreign channels in accordance with Cable Network Operation Act 2006.

However, cable operators have halted broadcast of foreign satellite channels from the same day as a response.

Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Union of Journalists also welcomed Information Minister Hasan Mahmud's insistence on ad-free (clean-feed) broadcasting of foreign TV channels.

In two separate statements on Saturday, BFUJ President Mollah Jalal, Secretary General Abdul Majid and DUJ President Quddus Afrad and General Secretary Sajjad Alam Khan Tapu said the country's economy, artists, culture and media industry have been affected for a long time due to non-broadcasting of ad-free or clean feed on foreign TV channels.