The figure in the Law is precise: broadcasting of the offending programme is suspended up to five times (Article 32/1). Five times means five editions of the programme are skipped — five weeks for a weekly show, five days for a daily one. But that number applies only to programme suspension. Broadcast suspension, which the Law regulates separately, is a different sanction measured in days.
Two suspensions, two units
| Programme suspension | Broadcast suspension | |
|---|---|---|
| What stops | Only the offending programme | The undertaking’s entire output |
| Unit | Editions (times) | Days |
| Ceiling | Up to five times | 5 days, 10 days or 3 months depending on the track |
| Basis | Art. 32/1 | Art. 32/5, Art. 32/6, Art. 7/4 |
| When | Available on a first breach | As a rule on repetition |
Missing this distinction is a common error. Most decisions reported as “RTUK shut the channel down” are programme suspensions; taking a whole channel off air requires reaching the steps in Article 32/5 or 32/6.
The on-demand equivalent: catalogue removal
Suspending a programme “five times” makes no sense on a streaming platform, where the content simply sits there. The Law anticipates this and provides a separate measure in Article 32/1 for on-demand services: the offending programme is removed from the catalogue.
Suspension is optional, not automatic
The closing sentence of Article 32/1 opens three routes for RTUK: “depending on the nature of the breach, an administrative fine may be imposed together with an administrative measure, or only an administrative fine, or only a measure may be ordered.”
- Fine plus programme suspension
- Fine alone
- Programme suspension alone
What fills the suspended slot
The screen does not go dark and the slot cannot be sold. Article 32/4 requires that programmes supplied by RTUK be broadcast in place of the suspended programme, in the same broadcasting band and containing no commercial communication. The Law even lists the subjects.
- Education and culture
- Road safety
- Women’s and children’s rights
- Physical and moral development of young people
- Combating narcotics and harmful habits
- Correct use of the Turkish language
- Environmental education
- Issues facing disabled people
- Health and comparable matters of public benefit
The producer and presenter ban
The least known but heaviest consequence sits in the second sentence of Article 32/4: the producer of the programme, and its presenter where there is one, who is responsible for the act that led to the sanction may not make or present any other programme, at the same or a different media service provider, under any name, for the duration of the suspension.
Both phrases matter. “The same or a different” undertaking means a presenter cannot escape by moving to a rival channel. “Under any name” means renaming the programme or changing its format is not a solution either.
On repetition, suspension turns into days
| Situation | Sanction | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| First breach within Art. 32/1 | Programme suspended up to five times | Art. 32/1 |
| Repetition within one year of a breach of Art. 8/1 (a), (b), (d) or Art. 8/4 | Broadcasting suspended up to 10 days | Art. 32/5 |
| Second repetition of the same breach | Licence revocation | Art. 32/5 |
| Broadcasting contrary to a publication ban | Broadcasting suspended 1 day; Art. 32/4 applies | Art. 7/4 |
| Loss of a licence condition, not cured within 30 days | Broadcasting suspended for 3 months | Art. 32/6 |
Day counts for broadcast suspension are set out in the maximum penalty guide, and the special regime for emergencies in the emergency guide.