MBC yet to finalise plans for new “Dhivehi TV” channel

The Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has announced its intention to launch a new national television channel under the name of “Dhivehi TV”, according to local media reports.

Television Maldives (TVM) Chief Operating Officer Mohamed Asif said that beyond the name, no decisions had yet been made on a possible target audience or the type of programming the channel would provide.

While still in the planning stages, Asif told local newspaper Haveeru that the channel would not be a replacement for the Youth TV channel, which was abolished when MBC assumed control of the state’s media assets in February this year.

Until the controversial transfer of power on February 7, the parliament-created state broadcaster MBC had been engaged in a long running tug-of-war with state-owned Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) for control over state media assets, which were re- branded by the company as MNBC One and Raaje Radio.