Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) members stopped broadcasting foreign satellite channels without 'clean feeds', i.e. their advertisement slots filled by show sponsors and other commercial entities cater to a foreign market, early Friday morning in line with a government directive. The sudden blackout, that affects practically every foreign channel available in Bangladesh, can be traced to a September 2nd meeting attended by the Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO), TV channel distributors and cable operators’ representatives that took place at the Information Ministry, informed its minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Friday evening. The meeting was informed that foreign channels will not be allowed to air in the country without a clean feed policy after September 30. "The channels are not transmitting clean feeds even though we have urged them repeatedly to do so," he added. Read: Policy to regulate OTT platforms in the works: Hasan Mahmud Contacted, SM Anwar Parvez, the founding president of COAB, said they have stopped transmitting foreign channels since Friday early morning following government directives.

Internet service providers and cable operators on Saturday suspended their previous decision to block access to the web for three hours across the country.