The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a proposal to immediately halt the issuance of licenses for terrestrial analogue television channels in Sri Lanka, as the country moves toward a modern digital broadcasting system.
Currently, 24 television channels, including five state-owned channels, operate under licenses issued to 16 institutions using the existing terrestrial analogue technology. The analogue system has reached the maximum capacity of the frequency spectrum.
To modernize television broadcasting, the Ministry of Mass Media launched the Digital Non-Territorial Television Broadcasting Project in 2025, aiming to provide high-quality digital viewing under a single digital terrestrial broadcasting system. The project is being implemented in collaboration with the Government of Japan and is scheduled for completion in 2029, with the old analogue system to be fully decommissioned two years later.
As a result, further licensing of analogue channels is deemed ineffective. The Cabinet approved the proposal presented jointly by the Minister of Health and Mass Media and the President, in his capacity as Minister of Digital Economy, to terminate analogue TV licensing and reallocate frequencies for terrestrial digital television operations under the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.
