The number of TV channels with permission for transmission and downlink now rises to 79.

The 38 TV channels include 12 pay channels and 26 free to air channels. This number might increase in future, sources said.

The 12 pay channels are Star One, Disney, Toon Disney, Set Max, SAB TV, Travel & Living, Ten Sports, AXN, Zee Bangla, Zee Studio, Zee Premier and Etv Bangla, while 26 free to air channels are Al Jazeera, DD News, DW, Peace TV, Movie 1, Movie 2, DD Sports, Real Madrid, IRB, AJK, Al-Jazeera Sports, Zee Music, VOA, Zoom, GEO, NHK, Ptv World, Aajtak, Bloomberg, Arirang, DD Bangla, DD National, Zee Smile, TV5, Saudia and Qtv, Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) sources said.

The government took the decision after a meeting with COAB at the information ministry.

"After meeting with COAB, we have recommended giving permission to transmit some TV channels," Additional Secretary to the Information Ministry Sayed Hasinur Rahman, who chaired the meeting, told The Daily Star.

Asked about the criteria for banning TV channels, he said, "The TV channels that did not take prior permission from the government were barred from downlink and transmitting."

The government on Tuesday decided to ban downlink and transmission of all the TV channels except 12 local and 29 foreign channels.

The decision deprived the viewers of watching some popular TV channels like Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, India's Doordarshan, NDTV, HBO and Ten Sports, creating much dissatisfaction among people including foreign citizens.

Different quarters criticised the government decision saying that depriving viewers suddenly of such channels is in effect taking away from them the rights they are supposed to have where freedom of access to information is concerned.

No one raised any question when a few channels were barred from downlink and transmitting over questions of morality, said several viewers.

The government decision also drew sharp reactions from rural areas as cable operators there do not have the ability to transmit pay channels.

Foreign citizens working in the capital, including those from Korea, Pakistan, and Germany, also expressed their dissatisfaction over the government's decision.

Viewers could watch only 30-35 channels instead of 70-80 channels after the government decision to take legal actions against downlink and transmission of unapproved TV channels in the country.

In the face of the adverse reaction, the information secretary told reporters that government has taken initiative not to control the TV channels but to bring the cable channel operators under rules and regulations.

In a press note issued on Saturday, the government said that it is mandatory for all distributors to take prior permission or licence from the government before transmitting any TV channels including pay channels and free to air channels.

The government therefore has produced a list of channels that had taken prior permission, said the press note.