An investigation into whether Melita and Go violated consumer rights when they dropped two channels from their line-ups is expected to be concluded soon, according to Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said.

The investigation, by the Consumer and Competition Department, was prompted when both service providers stopped broadcasting popular channels Comedy Central and Living after it emerged they could have been transmitted without the necessary authorisation.

A spokesman for the Consumers and Competition Parliamentary Secretariat said the “CCD is thoroughly evaluating the relevant terms and conditions in contracts between the service provider and consumers”.

A spokesman for Living TV had said both companies, which offered the channels as part of their mid-range packages, were not authorised to rebroadcast the channels in Malta.Comedy Channel is distributed in the UK as a joint venture with the owners of Living TV, bSkyb.

Industry sources had said it was likely the request to remove Comedy Central was part of a “concerted effort by Sky to stamp out this kind of piracy”.

The law prohibits unfair terms in a contract. Unfair terms are defined as those that lead to “a significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the contracting parties to the detriment of the consumers” or “cause the performance to the contract to be unduly detrimental to the consumer... be significantly different from what the consumer could reasonably expect” or “incompatible with the requirements of good faith”.Contracts containing unfair or prohibited terms are not considered binding unless the contract is capable of continuing in existence without the unfair term.

“In the light of such legal provisions, a detailed analysis of the relevant contract terms and conditions is being effected by the CCD,” the spokesman said.