BBC Monitoring

Text of report in English by Jordan Times website on 2 October

["Audio-Visual Commission Permits ATV to Start Satellite Transmission" - Petra headline]

Amman, Oct. 2 (Petra) - The Audio-Visual Commission (AVC) allowed Jordan's first privately owned terrestrial and satellite TV station, ATV to start satellite transmission as of today, Director of AVC Husayn Bani Hani said.

Director General of the Jordanian United TV Broadcasting Company, Zayd Rashdan sent a letter yesterday to the AVC requesting its permission to start satellite transmission, adding that the company was still not yet ready for this process due to financial reasons.

Rashdan said in his letter that he would inform the commission later on the new date of broadcasting, noting terrestrial broadcasting will start once the new company rectifies its financial status.

"The company, which bought the shares of the ATV's previous owner Muhammad Al-Al-Ayyan will also settle all outstanding issues with the Jordanian Radio and Television Corpora! tion and the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission," he added.

Ownership of the ATV was transferred to a Jordanian company called "Al-Ajayib for Investments".

Source: Jordan Times website, Amman, in English 2 Oct 07