The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Sri Lanka’s Maharaja Media Network (MMN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that widens an earlier broadcast arrangement into a full framework of co-productions, content sharing, training and professional exchange across television, radio and digital platforms, NewsFirst reported.
MMN, part of the Capital Maharaja Group, operates MTV Channel and MBC Networks and is Sri Lanka’s largest media network. The new agreement builds on a 2022 television licensing arrangement under which ABC Australia’s international service began carrying current affairs, entertainment, cultural and sports programming to Sri Lankan free-to-air audiences.
Matthew Duckworth of the Australian High Commission to Sri Lanka, speaking at the signing, said the deal would “cover co-production, sharing of content, and greater cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region in producing stories that will speak to both of our countries.” ABC International Head Claire M. Gorman said the partnership reflected “our shared commitment to supporting public-interest media across the Indo-Pacific region, and strengthening cultural and media ties between Australia and Sri Lanka.”
Chevaan Daniel, Group Director of the Capital Maharaja Group, said the ABC relationship “began in 2022 during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis” and that the broadcaster had “stood by us through challenging times, including the Ditwah Cyclone in 2025.” Signing the MoU, he said, was “a meaningful next step in a trusted partnership.”
Both broadcasters framed the deal as a vehicle for projecting “Brand Sri Lanka” — heritage, tourism, design and landscapes — to wider regional and global audiences, and as a contribution to the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union architecture. The agreement follows MMN’s May 13 MoU with Macau public broadcaster TDM on the sidelines of the ABU Administrative Council, extending the network’s run of cross-border broadcasting tie-ups this month. ABC Australia previously featured in Sri Lankan media coverage when it retracted asset figures about Minister Lal Kantha during a defamation dispute, illustrating the broadcaster’s existing footprint in the Sri Lankan information landscape.
