MILESTONE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST PIRACY

TORONTO, March 31, 2022 /CNW/ -  Asian Television Network International Limited (ATN) (TSXV: SAT) is Canada's largest South Asian Broadcaster and pioneer broadcaster of Cricket.

ATN is very happy to note that the Supreme Court of Canada has declined leave to appeal in the matter of the 2021 Federal Court of Appeal decision under which a 2019 Federal Court Order to block their subscribers access to piracy websites was unanimously upheld.

ATN was an active member of FAIRPLAY COALITION, comprised of industry stake holders, which had sought dissolution of piracy and had in that process filed an application to the CRTC. The application was denied in 2018 for lack of jurisdiction. It seems that the legislation was drafted in the internet's early days of innocence and Piracy was not yet on the scene and never up-dated.

Be that as it may, several of the industry leaders persevered with patience and resources to find a judicial remedy and we are grateful for their initiative and the success in that process which shall benefit Canadian cultural industry across the board.

As per a recent release from Smart & Biggar LLP "On March 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Teksavvy Solutions Inc's application for leave to appeal a decision of the Federal Court of Appeal (2021 FCA 100), affirming the Federal Court's decision in Bell Media Inc et al v Goldtv.biz et al, 2019 FC 1432, which enjoined Canada's main Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block their subscribers' access to certain piracy websites. This decision confirms once and for all that site-blocking Orders are available in Canada, and is another major victory for Canadian copyright holders in the fight against online piracy. The Plaintiffs/Respondents Bell Media Inc, Groupe TVA Inc and Rogers Media Inc were successfully represented by Smart & Biggar's litigation team in Montréal led by François Guay, Guillaume Lavoie Ste-Marie and Olivier Jean-Lévesque". Full release available at: https://www.smartbiggar.ca/insights/publication/supreme-court-of-canada-denies-teksavvy-solutions-inc-leave-to-appeal-canada-rsquo-s-first-site-blocking-order

ATN is committed to eradication of piracy and to follow the leadership of Industry leaders and of the CRTC and the Minister of Heritage to stop the revenue bleeding in the range of Billions rather than Millions of Dollars to the piracy based underground market.

It is interesting to note while on the subject that Bill C -11 promises to bring commercial online distributors under the discipline of being on a List and of meeting some obligations relating to content and contributions. Paradoxically, piracy distribution fits the definition of 'online undertakings' at a first glance. The CRTC needs the requisite powers similar to those exercised by The Canada Border Control Agency to enable it to detect pirates and weed them out.

"The Supreme Court ruling is a milestone and it could prove to be a lifesaver for the Canadian Broadcast Industry. Not only would ATN Benefit but several other specialty services and the entire Cable, satellite and the production industries will flourish" said Dr. Shan Chandrasekar, President and CEO of ATN. "Thanks to the perseverance, resources and patience of our Industry leaders, they prevailed at all levels in the judicial system and the recent denial of leave by the Supreme Court of Canada establishes that 'for every wrong, there is a remedy' under our ever evolving system of justice. We are most appreciative of that. We thank the industry leaders and congratulate them on their success. The decision will be welcome and benefit the whole industry", he added.

ATN is one of the largest producers and distributors of Multi-Cultural content in Canada and is fully committed to provide quality content to a growing South Asian population across Canada. However, in order to do that it needs the Government of Canada also to do better to block the Illegal piracy set top boxes and sites in order to strengthen the cultural industries in Canada to grow to its fullest potential.

About ATN-Asian Television Network International Limited

ATN serves Canada's diverse cultural communities with over 50 specialty television channels. The Company offers its flagship ATN-HD general interest service along with 7 other general interest channels, 3 sports Channels, 7 news Channels, 5 Bollywood movie channels and a variety of channels that include music, lifestyle, and several regional language channels that includes Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali, Urdu, Gujarati & Marathi. ATN has been a pioneer in the Production of Multicultural Television Programming in Canada. ATN has programming alliances with leading international broadcasters like Sony Entertainment Television, Viacom, India Cast, Zee Network, Doordarshan, Times Television, B4U, NDTV, Republic TV, ABP News Network, Jaya TV, ARY, FOOD FOOD Network and many more. ATN is also a pioneer broadcaster of Cricket in Canada and has exclusive broadcast rights for various International Cricket Boards. ATN has its own State Of The Art Production facilities. ATN's content is also available on Amazon Prime in USA & UK, Bell Media's Crave in Canada and also operates a 24X7 South Asian Radio Service on Sirius XM Radio across The United States and Canada. ATN's high class Studio Facilities have also been used by Production Companies associated with Netflix, CBC and others.

We rely on safe harbour provision.

SOURCE Asian Television Network International Limited

For more information please visit www.asiantelevision.com or contact Pramod Israni, Vice President - Marketing, Asian Television Network International Limited, 330 Cochrane Drive, Markham, Ontario L3R 8E4, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]