Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) has decided to increase the license fee from Rs. 35 to Rs. 100 to address its annual financial losses of Rs. 17bn.

The additional amount will be credited to customers’ electricity bills.

Energy customers, who have already faced a tariff rise of 40 percent in the past 18 months, will now have to suffer the operating costs of cash-less state-run television.

The board of directors has approved a financial plan that will finalize the license fee increase. The proposal now is pending approval by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The power consumers will pay an additional amount of Rs. 65 each month, if accepted. It comes after a series of power-tariff hikes that have nearly doubled the cost of electricity.

The organization recently hired three private sector marketing executives charged with reviving the state-owned television channel. Those industry experts cost the national exchequer about Rs. 3 million per month.

The corporation has an entire team of experts in business and marketing, but have failed to pitch a single business plan that could upgrade the channel.

It was revealed during a board meeting last October that PTV did not attract viewers. The government halted broadcasting advertisements on it.

Yet, instead of aiming to draw the viewers to the national television, PTV’s business development and marketing managers have created a financial plan that increases pressure on the public.

Commenting on the development, PTV board member Syed Ali Bukhari said that contributing to the revival of state-run television was the people’s responsibility.

He approved the decision to raise the fee by claiming that PTV’s license fee rate was lower than elsewhere in the world.