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Hong Kong gov’t awards FTA licences to i-Cable and PCCW, excludes HKTV

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Two new FTA television licences were awarded to i-Cable’s Fantastic TV and PCCW’s HK Television Entertainment Company. TheSouth China Morning Post reported that the stations are expected to start two new channels in a year after securing their licences.

The report added that a consultant’s report had shown HKTV, previously known as City Telecom, to be the weakest applicant, and that the licences were approved with no political considerations, but that this decision is against the Broadcasting Authority’s earlier recommendation that all three licences be granted.

According to the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung, the Executive Council had considered “a basket of criteria” including programme planning, technical soundness, investment and public opinion, added the report.

The report also added that some industry experts said the decision to favour PCCW and i-Cable, established players in the pay television arena, was understandable.

The report said that already, Ricky Wong has spent HK$300 million on producing programmes, with an average of HK$1 million per drama episode, in his commitment to original content, and that the network has about 150 hours of programming ready to go. Wong premiered the first episode of crime thriller Borderline online in June, attracting 500,000 hits and praise from viewers, added the report.

HKTV cannot appeal to the Executive Council against the decision, but it can file a judicial review in court, according to So, said the report.

In a press release, PCCW announced that they submitted its application for a FTV license with a view to providing HK viewers more choices and better free TV programmes, taking into account the market competition and the related risk profile of the free TV business. A key issue concerns the important question of spectrum allocation, given the fact that the incumbent operators’ existing licenses will expire in 2015. “We will continue to discuss this matter with the Government and conclude the final license terms in due course. Without the spectrum, we will not be able to fully deliver the benefits of our FTV service to Hong Kong viewers,” they said.