Statement of the Audiovisual Council

The Audiovisual Council receives appeals from citizens regarding the removal of several sports television channels ("МАТЧ! ФУТБОЛ 1", "МАТЧ! ФУТБОЛ 2", "МАТЧ! ФУТБОЛ 3", "МАТЧ! ПРЕМЬЕРА", "МАТЧ! ИГРА", "МАТЧ! АРЕНА", "МАТЧ! СТРАНА", "МАТЧ!") from the retransmission packages of multiplex and platform operators.

First of all, it should be noted that according to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Media", multiplex and platform operators may retransmit foreign television channels in the Republic of Azerbaijan only if they submit documents granting such rights (contract, agreement, authorization, license, etc.) to the Audiovisual Council. In order to ensure compliance with this legal requirement, the Audiovisual Council has carried out relevant activities in recent years. Numerous meetings have been held with operators, and both oral and written recommendations have been provided to them. From the end of 2024 to March 2025, based on the results of monitoring of retransmission packages, violations were recorded, and administrative offence protocols were drawn up against more than 20 operators and submitted to the relevant courts. According to the court's decisions, each of these operators was fined 5000 AZN.

Furthermore, the Audiovisual Council has revealed that the aforementioned sports channels do not hold retransmission rights in the Republic of Azerbaijan. In addition, the exclusive broadcasting rights for several international sports competitions aired on these channels have been acquired by a number of local terrestrial and platform broadcasters, and these competitions are being shown on their television channels. The applications submitted to the Audiovisual Council by broadcasters holding exclusive and non-exclusive broadcasting rights, as well as the ongoing court proceedings, clearly indicate that the unauthorized ("pirate") broadcasting of "МАТЧ ТВ" channels in our country causes significant harm to their legally protected interests and economic potential.

Taking into account the above issues, on May 13, 2025 the Audiovisual Council once again officially appealed to multiplex and platform operators and demanded to stop retransmission of "pirate" television channels (including the aforementioned sports channels) in retransmission packages, and stated that legal measures would be taken in accordance with the law against operators from June 01, 2025.

The Audiovisual Council once again reminds operators that foreign television channels included in their retransmission packages offered to the public may only be retransmitted if there is a valid document granting such rights. Regular monitoring will be carried out in this respect and the results will be made public.