Togo’s Ministry of Communication has ordered audiovisual distributors, including pay-TV operators, to provide subscribers with free access to the country’s public broadcasters.
The directive covers Télévision Togolaise (TVT), Radio Lomé and Radio Kara, and was issued in a circular signed on 18 September by Communication Minister Yawa Ahofa Kouigan.
The ministry is enforcing an existing requirement under Article 36 of Togo’s 2019 audiovisual communications law, which obliges distributors operating in the country to make public media services available to subscribers at no additional charge.
According to the ministry, the directive follows concerns that public channels are either unavailable or not offered free of charge on some distribution platforms.
Operators that are not currently compliant have 30 days to make the required changes and report their actions to the ministry. Cases that remain unresolved after the deadline may be referred to Togo’s media regulator, the Haute Autorité de l’Audiovisuel et de la Communication (HAAC), for further action.
The move effectively reinforces Togo’s existing must-carry obligation, rather than introducing a new regulatory requirement. It also places the cost of carrying the public service channels on audiovisual distribution platforms.
While some local reports have identified individual operators as being affected by the directive, the ministry’s circular does not name specific distributors.
