Follow-up to previous post: Communications Authority releases findings of TVB anti-competition investigation

As a follow up to my earlier post about the Communications Authority imposing a $900K fine against TVB due to their unfair anti-competition practices, I actually found another article that details the findings of the CA more thoroughly (this particular website basically re-printed the official press release issued by the CA).

Even though most of the content was already summarized in the SCMP article, I feel there are some more in-depth details in the CA’s release that are worth paying attention to (especially with regard to the different types of contracts TVB has).

In addition, the main reason why I’m posting the actual press release from the CA (which also links back to all the documentation involved in the CA’s investigation) is because I want people to see for themselves how the CA came up with the decision that they did, especially since TVB ‘claims’ (in their official statement) that the CA’s investigation is ‘without merit’ (which I interpret to mean that TVB feels the CA was working off of inaccurate information and therefore their assessment of TVB is wrong?).  In my opinion, the way TVB is responding to the CA’s investigation over this issue is very similar to the way they responded to the CA’s approval of additional free-to-air licenses – pretty much TVB is ‘crying foul’ and ‘claiming’ that the CA’s information is ‘bogus’ as well as ‘inaccurate’ (to be honest, this particular ‘excuse’ is getting old already…TVB really needs to come up with another excuse).  To me, TVB’s response and the way they are handling this whole ‘penalty’ issue is yet another classic example of them taking the ‘constantly in denial’ thing to the ultimate level…

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Communications Authority releases findings of investigation into alleged violations of competition provisions of Broadcasting Ordinance by TVB

Source:  7thSpace Interactive

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The following is issued on behalf of the Communications Authority:

The Communications Authority (formerly the Broadcasting Authority, collectively referred to as "the Authority" hereafter) today (September 19) announced the findings of the investigation into the complaint lodged by Asia Television Limited (ATV) against the alleged violations of the competition provisions of the Broadcasting Ordinance (BO) by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), a domestic free television (TV) programme service licensee. Based on the evidence collected, the Authority finds that some of the allegations are substantiated and that TVB has abused its dominant position by engaging in anti-competitive practices in contravention of sections 13 and 14 of the BO.

The investigation was initiated by a formal complaint from ATV against TVB on December 10, 2009, alleging that certain clauses in TVB'scontracts with its artistes and singers and certain informal policies and practices pursued by TVB had the purpose or effect of preventing, distorting and substantially restricting competition, thereby violating sections 13 and 14 of the BO. The Authority decided on August 28, 2010, to launch a full investigation into some of the contractual clauses and policies alleged in ATV's complaint.

The Authority has completed its investigation into the complaint.

After considering the evidence collected and the representations received (including information and representations submitted by TVB and other licensees, record companies and singers), the Authority concludes that the following four allegations are substantiated:

(a) exclusive occasional use artiste and singer (Note 1) contracts with harsh and unreasonable terms;

(b) artistes on serial-based (Note 2) and one-show contracts (Note 3) with TVB are prohibited from having their original voices when performing in other TV stations' programmes (no original voice policy);

(c) artistes on serial-based and one-show contracts with TVB are prohibited from attending promotional activities of the productions of other TV stations which also featured the artistes concerned (no promotion policy); and

(d) artistes on contracts with TVB are prevented from speaking Cantonese in the programmes of other TV stations in Hong Kong (no Cantonese policy).

The Authority finds that:

(a) Supply and demand of artistes

The evidence reviewed by the Authority indicates that during 2007 to 2010, TVB contracted with a significant proportion of all the artistes on contract with the main Hong Kong broadcasters. Information gathered from record companies also suggests that approximately 90 per cent of singers entered into contracts with TVB. Apart from full-time contracts, TVB entered into three types of occasional use contracts with artistes and singers, including one-show contracts, serial-based contracts and singer contracts.

(b) Relevant markets and assessment of market power

On the basis of the analytical framework set out in the Competition Investigation Procedures and the Guidelines to Application of the Competition Provisions of the BO, the Authority finds that there are two relevant economic markets: all TV viewing market and TV advertising market.

TVB possesses a dominant position in both markets.

(c) TVB's conduct

(i) Exclusive contracts

In the one-show and serial-based contracts, TVB has inserted provisions that require the artiste either to obtain consent from TVB before engaging in outside work, or to be totally exclusive to TVB during the contractual period subject to TVB consenting otherwise. A small number of one-show contracts require the artistes concerned to notify TVB prior to undertaking outside work. As for singers, they are either required to obtain consent from TVB before engaging in outside work or give TVB prior notification before engaging in outside work.

In addition, all occasional use contracts contain a clause that TVB is not under an obligation to use the contracted artistes.

The data provided by TVB suggests that there are a significant number of artistes under one-show, serial-based and singer contracts who are not fully engaged by TVB during the contractual period and are fully capable of rendering their services to rival local TV stations, yet are still subject to the exclusivity terms. Even though it is theoretically possible for TVB artistes and singers to obtain consent from TVB or give TVB prior notice to appear on rival local stations, in reality, the consent clauses in the artiste and singer contracts impose de facto exclusivity. For example, between 2007 and 2010, TVB approved very few applications from artistes for performing outside work and none of the applications approved by TVB involved artistes working for TVB's rival TV stations in Hong Kong.

In addition, TVB has only received very few notifications from singers to appear on other TV broadcasters.

The clauses artificially impair rivals' ability to produce high-quality TV productions to compete with TVB and have also raised rivals' costs by making it more expensive for them to produce or acquire TV programmes featuring artistes. When these clauses are used in conjunction with the no-obligation-to-use clause, it allows TVB to warehouse artistes at minimal cost.

TVB has not provided any reasonable objective justifications for these clauses. The Authority is of the view that the "exclusive clauses" have the purpose and effect of foreclosing rivals' access to artistes and singers.

(ii) No original voice and no promotion policies

The no original voice and no promotion policies are encapsulated in a significant proportion of TVB's one-show contracts and serial-based contracts.

The Authority is of the view that the likely objective economic purpose of these policies is to impair rivals' ability to compete with TVB and to raise their costs. Where rivals wish to broadcast programmes which feature a TVB contracted artiste, they will face higher costs, and the perceived quality and attractiveness of the programming will likely be reduced. They will also be constrained in their promotional activities.

There is no acceptable objective justification offered by TVB for these policies.

(iii) No Cantonese policy

While the no Cantonese policy is not explicitly imposed through a contractual clause, the Authority is of the opinion that the amount of evidence examined by the Authority (including records of artistes' interviews on Cable TV and evidence submitted by other licensees, singers and record companies) shows that it is actively practised amongst singers as a result of TVB's policy. This policy affected a very large proportion of singers and some proportion of artistes. The likely plausible objective economic purpose of this policy is to impair rivals' ability to compete with TVB.

None of the reasons offered by TVB could objectively justify the policy. The no Cantonese policy has the capability of both reducing the quality of interviews of singers in rival TV stations and making it more difficult for viewers to understand, thus impairing rivals' ability to compete with TVB.

Given the above, the Authority decides:

(a) to impose a fine of $900,000 on TVB;

(b) to direct TVB under section 16 of the BO to forthwith bring to an end the infringement concerned, and refrain from repeating or engaging in any act or conduct which has an equivalent purpose or effect to the infringing clauses and policies;

(c) that TVB shall, within three months (i.e. on or before December 18, 2013), communicate to all artistes and singers who have current serial-based, one-show or singer contracts with TVB that TVB abandons the infringing contractual clauses and policies; issue a public statement within two weeks (i.e.

on or before October 2, 2013) explaining and declaring that TVB will not require singers and artistes which it engages to refrain from speaking Cantonese on other TV stations in Hong Kong; and

(d) that TVB shall provide a full written report to the Authority within four months (i.e. on or before January 18, 2014) describing the steps taken by TVB to comply with this direction.

As regards ATV's complaint about the "one station buy" policy (Note 4) allegedly practised by TVB, although the Authority finds no evidence to substantiate the allegation, the Authority is of the view that the "one station buy" policy has the capability to be exclusionary and undermine other broadcasters' ability to compete. The Authority would like to make clear that, provisionally, the "one station buy" policy will not generally be acceptable and should not be practised by licensees in dominant positions or with market power.

The full investigation report is published on the Authority's website (www.coms-auth.hk/en/report_investigation_into_TVB).

An executive summary of the investigation report is at www.coms-auth.hk/en/summary_investigation_into_TVB.

Note 1: For singer contracts, singers are engaged on a show-by-show basis. TVB and the singers agree that the singers will appear in TVB's shows if the need arises at agreed-upon rates.

Note 2: Serial-based contracts refer to contracts between TVB and its artistes in which the parties agree to a rate for a drama series of varying lengths.

Note 3: One-show contracts refer to contracts between TVB and its artistes in which the artistes are only signed for a minimum one-show commitment. TVB and the artistes agree that they will appear in TVB's shows if the need arises at agreed-upon rates.

Note 4: ATV complained that TVB had allegedly implemented this policy, whereby TVB offered higher discount rates to advertisers which undertook not to place advertisements with ATV.


Source: HKSAR Government

BREAKING NEWS: TVB fined HK$900,000 for anti-competition practices **UPDATED**

**HOT OFF THE PRESS**

I just saw the below article in the news and I must say that I almost jumped up and down for joy after I read it (LOL)!!

FINALLY the government is doing something right!  TVB should have been penalized long ago for their ‘antics’ and it looks like now it’s finally happening (albeit it still took a long time, since according to the article, ATV filed their claims in 2009 and the CA just issued a ruling today – 4 years later!).

The part that I’m most happy about is that the CA is requiring TVB to ‘abandon’ the anti-competitive practices within 3 months – which means that they would no longer be able to restrict artists from appearing on other TV stations and such.  So in other words, there is ‘hope’ that the TVB monopoly will finally be broken (though of course, since TVB is planning on filing an appeal, this could still be tangled up in the courts for awhile).

Anyway, still happy nonetheless…gotta go celebrate now!  See ya!!

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TVB fined HK$900,000 for anti-competition practices

Source:  South China Morning Post

Hong Kong’s free-to-air broadcaster Television Broadcasts (TVB) was fined HK$900,000 by the city’s communications watchdog on Thursday for engaging in anti-competition practices.

These included “harsh and unreasonable” terms in contracts with some artistes and singers, and a “no Cantonese policy” that prohibits TVB contract artistes from speaking Cantonese on other Hong Kong TV stations’ programmes, the Communications Authority said on Thursday.

The authority earlier launched an investigation into TVB, the bigger of the city’s two free-to-air television broadcasters, after rival Asia Television (ATV) lodged a complaint in December 2009 alleging that the station violated the competition provisions of the Broadcasting Ordinance.

Two other policies adopted by TVB concerning its artistes on serial-based and one-show contracts were also deemed to be anti-competition practices, the authority said.

These involved banning artistes on these contracts from using their original voices when performing on other TV stations’ programmes, and from attending promotional activities for the productions of other stations which also featured the performers concerned.

In serial-based contracts, TVB and its artistes agree to a rate for a drama series of varying lengths. In one-show contracts, artistes are only signed for a minimum one-show commitment at agreed-upon rates with the station.

There were also exclusive occasional-use artiste and singer contracts where they were engaged on a show-by-show basis. They would appear in TVB shows “if the need arises” and the broadcaster has no obligation to use the contracted performers.

The authority said TVB had a significant number of artistes under one-show, serial-based and singer contracts, who were not fully engaged during the contractual period and were fully capable of rendering their services to rival local stations but were still subject to the exclusivity terms.

Although artistes and singers could apply to TVB for its consent for appearance on rival stations under these contracts, the station had approved none of these applications between 2007 and 2010.

“The clauses artificially impair rivals’ ability to produce high-quality TV productions to compete with TVB and have also raised rivals’ costs by making it more expensive for them to produce or acquire TV programmes featuring [these] artistes,” the authority said.

“The authority is of the view that the ‘exclusive clauses’ have the purpose and effect of foreclosing rivals’ access to artistes and singers.”

The maximum penalty allowed by law for anti-competition violations is HK$1 million.  Given that the station made remedies, including cancelling one-show contracts, the authority reached the conclusion that a fine of HK$900,000 was appropriate..

Apart from the fine, TVB is required to abandon its anti-competition practices within three months and issue a public statement within two weeks to state that it will no longer require its singers and artistes to refrain from speaking Cantonese on other TV stations in Hong Kong. It also has to submit a report to the authority within four months.

Former TVB artist Felix Wong Yat-wah, now with HKTV, applauded the authority's  findings, caliing them “righteous”.


Additional reporting Amy Nip

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TVB released an official statement a few hours after the CA's ruling in which they responded to the CA's decision and also emphasized 4 main points...

TVB’s official statement in response to the Communications Authority’s ruling:

1)      TVB has given its full cooperation to the Communications Authority throughout the investigation into this matter.

2)      ATV’s ‘complaints’ are unwarranted and without merit.  Therefore, we feel that the Communication Authority’s ruling is disappointing, regrettable, and without basis.

3)      TVB has always been the ‘foundation’ [TN: TVB used the word ‘cradle’] for the training and cultivation of talent for the Hong Kong entertainment industry.  Over the years, TVB has cultivated and trained over a thousand stars for the music, movie, and television industries, with many of these stars entering the international arena and bringing pride to HK people.  The foundation for these great accomplishments are based on our first-rate artist management policies as well as the tremendous investment of resources over the years.

4)      There are countless artists out there who choose to pursue a career in the entertainment industry and are not TVB contracted artists.  Therefore, we feel that our policies with regard to TVB-contracted artists do not hinder the operations of other TV stations or affect the overall development of the industry.

Towards the Communication Authority’s investigation and outcome, TVB will consult with our legal experts and seek further legal action as necessary.

Weibo Fever #19: Is the Hong Kong Music Industry Truly "Dead"??

Not sure how many people read the news today, but looks like there is a pretty big ‘controversy’ brewing on Weibo right now and since I haven’t blogged about the HK music industry in quite some time, I figured this would be a good ‘relevant’ topic to write about…

First, here’s the ‘gist’ of what happened….

Food connoisseur (and former actor as well as entertainment reporter) Benny Li (李純恩) wrote an opinion piece for a local magazine entitled “The Death of the HK Music Industry”.  In his editorial piece, Benny states his opinion that the ‘death’ of the HK music industry is due to the lack of musical talent in HK currently, with majority of the blame being placed on songwriters (specifically lyricists) for their ‘messy’ lyrics that in many cases, boil down to ‘nonsensical jibberish’.  He claims that many songwriters nowadays lack the ability to write lyrics that truly resonate on an emotional level with music fans – unlike past songwriters who actually wrote songs that were meaningful and had the ability to move people.

After Benny Li reposted his opinion piece on Weibo, HK lyricist Wyman Wong (黄偉文) replied to his post with a ‘scathing’ post of his own, pretty much scolding Benny for what he wrote and also insisting that Benny doesn’t know what he is talking about.  Based on his response, looks like Wyman took personal offense to Benny’s post and even went so far as to ‘infer’ that Benny was referring specifically to him….even Benny asked Wyman on Weibo ‘Wyman, was I referring to you specifically in my post?’ to which Wyman replied ‘What do you think?’ (um, ok, to be fair, Wyman’s name wasn’t even mentioned in Benny’s post – as an ‘outsider’ reading the article, I actually felt that he was speaking more in a general sense rather than targeting anyone in particular).  

Well, the ‘controversial’ part is that almost immediately after Wyman’s response, many HK lyricists as well as singers such as Anthony Wong, Hacken Lee, Kay Tse, Richie Ren, etc. responded to the issue on Weibo – pretty much all of them expressed similar sentiments as Wyman and insisted that the HK music industry is ‘not dead’.

Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is.  Benny Li was just expressing his personal opinion of the HK music industry – true or not, it’s his opinion based on his experience.  Therefore, to me, Wyman overreacted – not sure why he would take offense to Benny’s post or why he felt that Benny was referring specifically to him (based on Wyman’s response on weibo, sounds to me like he harbors a personal dislike of Benny and so took this opportunity to chastise him??).

Besides, it’s not like what Benny said is false – he actually does have quite a few valid points in his post…and come on, I’m sure anyone who isn’t blind can see that the HK music industry has deteriorated greatly from what it was in the past.  Sure, saying that the music industry is ‘dead’ might be a bit too exaggerated, since there are still some truly great talents left in the industry – but let’s face it, the music industry isn’t exactly ‘flourishing’ either.

Personally, the part that I find disappointing is how so many people within the music industry are ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ to defend Wyman and bash Benny – that just shows me that a lot of industry people are still in ‘denial’ mode about the state of the music industry….I mean, if people within the music industry refuse to even acknowledge the problem, then how much hope is there that things will get better?

Of course, I can also see why the music industry people would respond the way they did – after all, they don’t want the younger generation and others still active in the music industry to feel disheartened or discouraged from making music.  BUT STILL….it goes back to my original point – I’m not faulting anyone for trying to be positive and optimistic, but there comes a point when we have to face reality….besides, the below is Benny's personal opinion -- if his opinion doesn't matter and he doesn't know what he's talking about, then why should anyone feel 'discouraged' by what he said?

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Anyway, below is Benny Li’s editorial piece in Chinese (didn’t get a chance to translate it yet, so my apologies to those who aren’t able to read it…if I get a chance later on, I’ll translate it and re-post it back up):

Edit:  Here's the translation of Benny's editorial:

HK Headline Editorial:  The ‘Death’ of the HK Music Industry

Written by:  Benny Li

While eating dinner at a restaurant, a charity fundraising program started airing on the restaurant’s television set.  The program featured performances from many of the HK music industry’s newbie singers and as they were singing, the lyrics to their songs were displayed on the screen as well.  Reading the lyrics to some of their songs, nine out of 10 were ‘unintelligible’ – I couldn’t identify a single song whose lyrics were clear and coherent.  And to think that those singers tried to sing those songs with as much emotion as they could muster.

When it comes to a song, the melody is what attracts people to it and the lyrics are what moves people emotionally – in this world, there is not a single ‘classic’ where only the melody is nice to listen to but the lyrics are unintelligible.  The reason why the HK music industry is ‘dead’ now is because lyrics are ‘dead’.  If lyrics are ‘dead’, then they can no longer move people emotionally and without this trait, a song naturally ‘dies’ as well.  In today’s HK music industry, the lyrics to many ‘works’ can’t even fulfill the ‘basic’ requirement of being coherent and intelligible – most of the lyrics don’t even flow and in many cases, are merely sounds mixed in with musical notes.  With these songs, it’s hard enough for the singers to even remember the lyrics, let alone expecting them to resonate with and move audiences.  Given this problem, how is it possible for these ‘works’ to continue to be passed down to future generations?

The HK music industry was once a thriving, flourishing industry that had a significant impact on the Chinese community all over the world.  So many classic hits were passed down from one generation to the next and continued to remain strong even as the years passed, to the point that even people who didn’t understand Cantonese could still sing the songs.  The reason for this is because the lyrics to many of those songs resonated with the masses and therefore were able to touch people’s hearts.

Today, the music industry is very different.  Even in Taiwan and Mainland China, there are many great memorable songs, yet the younger generation of HK singers don’t seem to have very many songs that people actually remember.  Why?  Well, one of the main reasons is that people don’t even know what in the world these singers are singing because the lyrics are ‘messy’ and pointless – when we look at the lyrics to a lot of these songs, they are merely a bunch of Chinese characters strung together haphazardly.

The weird thing is that many of the HK songwriters nowadays seem to be ‘illiterate’ and don’t know how to write.  If not, how else can we explain why our music industry produces so many such ‘unintelligible’ songs?  This is what I call a ‘self-inflicted calamity’ and as the saying goes, ‘when we bring calamities upon ourselves, no one can save us from it!’  With the HK music industry being ‘dead’ to this point – all I can say is:  serves us right!

And below is Wyman’s response on Weibo:

黄伟文:公道自在人心，李先生是個連「自黎彼得以後香港就再沒有好歌詞」這樣的話也說得出的人，到底是我在呃版税瞎填一通，還是他在騙稿費胡言亂吠，就交給大家評價了。

Translation:  Wyman Wong’s response:  Facts speak louder than words!  Mr. Li is the same person who also claims that ‘after Peter Lai (黎彼得), there are no good lyricists in HK’ – the type of person who makes such outrageous statements!  So does this mean that I’m just blindly writing jibberish songs in order to cheat royalty fees or is he [Benny] trying to cheat writer’s fees with his nonsensical barking?  I’ll let you guys be the judge.

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What are your thoughts on this issue?

BREAKING NEWS: James Shing quits role as ATV's executive director

I’ve been really busy recently, so haven’t had a chance to update my blog (my apologies once again to those who continue to read and support my blog).  There have actually been quite a lot of ‘developments’ in the world of HK entertainment in the past few months as well as many many articles worth reading / translating – unfortunately though, I haven’t been able to find much time  to spare with my busy schedule to do much translating….with that said however, I have definitely continued to keep up with the latest in HK entertainment news so I can keep myself current on the latest happenings and such.

For those who have been reading up on HK entertainment news, the ‘biggest’ news of late is of course the ‘controversy’ surrounding ATV and its executive director James Shing.   To be honest, I’ve never liked Mr. Shing from the beginning (when he took over ATV several years ago) – the guy has always been a worthless ‘puppet’ under the control of ATV investor Wong Ching and his ‘antics’ the past 3 years or so pretty much prove how much of an idiot he is.  Therefore, when I heard the ‘news’ last week that the Communications Authority (aka the Broadcasting Authority) won its case against ATV and not only penalized the station (in the form of monetary fine), but also gave them an ‘ultimatum’ – ATV must fire its chief executive director James Shing within 7 days (deadline is September 1^st) or else risk having its free-to-air TV license revoked – I was actually very very ECSTATIC!!! 

While it’s true that I’ve never been a fan or supporter of ATV and to be very honest, that station has been run into the toilet so badly over the past decade that it’s beyond salvageable (which means that I could really care less what happens to the station), part of me still remembers ATV’s ‘glory days’ back in the 70s (when it was still under its previous name of Rediffusion Television) as well as 80s/early 90s.  Sure, ATV was never able to ‘surpass’ TVB in terms of ratings or popularity, but there were numerous times when ATV actually WAS a formidable ‘competitor’ against TVB in that TVB actually felt ‘threatened’ by the station’s existence and therefore rolled out a lot of great programming to combat this ‘threat’ (yup, so ATV’s 56 year existence didn’t go completely to waste).  Plus there are quite a few artists and behind the scenes people who came from ATV and whom I’ve ‘followed’ for many years, so for their sake I don’t want to ‘discredit’ ATV completely.  So pretty much, even though I don’t really give a damn about ATV nowadays, I still pay attention to news about them and yes, I still do get pissed off when I read about the imbecilic management who run ATV (honestly, those morons make TVB’s management look like ‘angels’…LOL!!). 

Anyway, I went ahead and posted the latest article I found about James Shing quitting his executive director post at ATV (though it’s actually not the best article on the issue – I’ve read quite a few articles on the subject lately and there are plenty of articles out there that are more detailed….I chose this particular one merely because it’s written in English so I wouldn’t have to translate it…). 

While James Shing’s ‘resignation’ won’t necessarily mean the ‘end’ to Wong Ching’s involvement in ATV’s affairs (especially since it’s rumored that the new executive director also has ties to Wong Ching), at least it’s a step in the right direction in terms of the HK government FINALLY doing something about the ‘corrupt’ HK television industry by forcing out people who should never be involved in the television business in the first place.  Though I feel that the ‘ousting’ of James Shing is “too little, too late” and most likely won’t do a thing to change ATV’s fate in the long run, I can’t help feeling happy about the situation. 

Lastly…this may sound mean, but I just have to say it….

GOOD RIDDANCE, MR. SHING!!!   You definitely WON’T be missed -- though I do echo the sentiments of many former ATV employees such as director Wong Jing, Chapman To, Anthony Wong, Elena Kong, etc. who have all publicly stated that they wish James Shing continues to REFUSE all attempts at ousting him because then that means ATV will finally get its license revoked (it’s truly sad when even ATV’s former employees don’t support the station and instead want to see it closed down…haha…talk about ‘no eye see’!).  What the future will hold for ATV in the long run is uncertain, but one thing’s for sure – in the short term, this move will at least hold ATV over until 2015 when its license is set to expire….my prediction is that ATV won’t survive beyond that…whether that’s a ‘good’ thing or ‘bad’ one – you decide for yourself!

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James Shing quits role as ATV's executive director

Station chief complies with part of government order to resign, but may still be on ATV board

Source:  South China Morning Post

Article originally posted September 2, 2013 (originally written in English by Vivienne Chow at SCMP)

ATV's James Shing Pan-yu has finally relinquished his role as the broadcaster's executive director.

Yesterday, ATV announced that it had on Saturday received documents signed by Shing confirming his resignation from the position immediately.

But it was unclear if he had also quit the ATV board.

Shing is required by the Communications Authority to step down from both his roles as executive director and board director by today.

The order came after the authority released its investigation report on ATV on August 23, concluding that Shing had breached the licensing terms by allowing investor Wong Ching to exercise de facto control over the station. Shing and Wong are relatives.

The authority said Shing was no longer a "fit and proper person" for the role as stipulated in the Broadcasting Ordinance. It also fined the station HK$1 million for the breach.

Shing, who was executive director for more than three years, last week said he was "willing to sacrifice himself for ATV".

Yesterday, it remained unclear if he had fully complied with the authority's order, but the Companies Registry showed he remained a board director.

ATV did not respond to queries on this matter by press time. Shing could not be contacted.

The authority said it would continue to monitor ATV to ensure that the broadcaster complied with its ruling. Meanwhile, ATV said Louie King-bun, who was late last month appointed a board director, would replace Shing.

Louie, who was formerly executive editor of pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao, joined ATV as vice-president last year.

He became mired in controversy after an episode of ATV Focus, of which he is in charge, ran critical comments against student group Scholarism for opposing the introduction of national education classes at the height of the debate last year.

The Communications Authority received more than 10,000 complaints against the programme after it aired last September.

But the controversy did little to mar Louie's rapidly advancing career in ATV - in June, he was promoted to senior vice-president, succeeding the retiring Kwong Hoi-ying.