16 Dec 2014

FijiTV boss sacked

3:38 pm on 16 December 2014

The Chief Executive of FijiTV Tevita Gonelevu has been sacked, just days after the station was involved in a rights battle between the government and sporting body World Rugby.

Fiji celebrate winning the Gold Coast Sevens.

Fiji celebrate winning the Gold Coast Sevens. Photo: World Rugby / Martin Seras Lima

The circumstances surrounding the sacking are not known.

Earlier this month, Fiji lost television coverage of the Dubai Sevens because World Rugby objected to a government decree overriding broadcast rights that had been given to FijiTV.

The Television Decree 2014 requires significant events to be broadcast across all television channels, which include FBC TV and Mai TV.

Under the decree, a TV station can attract a 250,000 US dollar fine and a 10-year jail term for failing to share designated events.

Last weekend, World Rugby released the broadcast feed after the government agreed to remove the events from the Television Decree 2014 and FijiTV sub-licensed the feed to FBC TV.

Last week, the ruling FijiFirst Party rejected an opposition bid to change the decree to comply with international company law.

FijiTV is a private broadcaster whose licence has to be renewed every six months.

Last year, FijiTV sacked a veteran reporter after the regime leader told the station to choose between keeping the reporter or losing its licence.