The big news in the HK television industry this week is the government's long-awaited move to "loosen up" the city's notoriously restrictive broadcasting rules.
The article below explains it pretty well so I'm not even going to attempt to paraphrase things — you can read the details for yourself either below or in the link to the original article provided.
So what does this mean for the issuance of new free-to-air licenses? Well, here's the thing — essentially the only major change the government is making in terms of licenses is that they will allow some of the companies that were previously banned from applying for TV licenses (newspaper outlets, advertising agencies, etc) to do so now. With the "playing field" expanded now, this opens the door for more "players" to come in and apply for a TV license in HK, which means that there could potentially be more "contenders" for licenses than ever before. With that said however, the other major rules (owners must be HK resident for minimum 7 years; final approval of license rests in the hands of Chief Executive) as well the license approval process in general don't change (at least not on paper), which means that the government can still decide to approve or not approve licenses at whim — in other words, the change may mean more applicants, but that doesn't necessarily equate to more licenses, since approval is still up to the government.
TVB is understandably okay with these "new rules" because 1) it doesn't really affect them much where competition is concerned, since government still has final say-so in terms of approvals and we all know that TVB has the government "in their pockets", ready to do their bidding; 2) it is actually more beneficial to TVB because one of the rules the government is doing away with is having to get their (govt) approval for non-HK residents to have a "controlling stake" in a free TV station (TVB's Mainland investor Li Rui-gang tried to do exactly this — officially "take over" the station — last year but had to abandon the effort because it violated this particular rule). So now Li Rui-gang can renew his efforts without fear of being rejected and proceed to turn TVB into a Mainland station with expanded footprint into Hollywood (wait, wasn't TVB already going down this path anyway?).
The other 2 free TV operators in the city — ViuTV (NowTV) and Fantastic Television (I-cable) — haven't officially responded to this news but to be honest, it's not like they have much of a say anyway, since their footprint is so small right now that their opinion probably doesn't matter much in the eyes of the government.
Who this really affects are those companies that currently have license applications still "pending" with the government (specifically HKTV) as well as any future companies that may decide to apply. With the opening up to more applicants, a company like HKTV, which already got rejected once by the government and basically has been on their shxt-list ever since, stands even less chance of ever being approved for a license (the govt will now have more companies to compare against and claim that all of them are "more qualified" than HKTV). Like I said in the previous article that I posted — more and more, it's looking like Ricky Wong made a wise decision to pull himself out and instead focus on e-commerce. No doubt he will find more success there than the struggling HK television industry....
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Source: SCMP
The article below explains it pretty well so I'm not even going to attempt to paraphrase things — you can read the details for yourself either below or in the link to the original article provided.
So what does this mean for the issuance of new free-to-air licenses? Well, here's the thing — essentially the only major change the government is making in terms of licenses is that they will allow some of the companies that were previously banned from applying for TV licenses (newspaper outlets, advertising agencies, etc) to do so now. With the "playing field" expanded now, this opens the door for more "players" to come in and apply for a TV license in HK, which means that there could potentially be more "contenders" for licenses than ever before. With that said however, the other major rules (owners must be HK resident for minimum 7 years; final approval of license rests in the hands of Chief Executive) as well the license approval process in general don't change (at least not on paper), which means that the government can still decide to approve or not approve licenses at whim — in other words, the change may mean more applicants, but that doesn't necessarily equate to more licenses, since approval is still up to the government.
TVB is understandably okay with these "new rules" because 1) it doesn't really affect them much where competition is concerned, since government still has final say-so in terms of approvals and we all know that TVB has the government "in their pockets", ready to do their bidding; 2) it is actually more beneficial to TVB because one of the rules the government is doing away with is having to get their (govt) approval for non-HK residents to have a "controlling stake" in a free TV station (TVB's Mainland investor Li Rui-gang tried to do exactly this — officially "take over" the station — last year but had to abandon the effort because it violated this particular rule). So now Li Rui-gang can renew his efforts without fear of being rejected and proceed to turn TVB into a Mainland station with expanded footprint into Hollywood (wait, wasn't TVB already going down this path anyway?).
The other 2 free TV operators in the city — ViuTV (NowTV) and Fantastic Television (I-cable) — haven't officially responded to this news but to be honest, it's not like they have much of a say anyway, since their footprint is so small right now that their opinion probably doesn't matter much in the eyes of the government.
Who this really affects are those companies that currently have license applications still "pending" with the government (specifically HKTV) as well as any future companies that may decide to apply. With the opening up to more applicants, a company like HKTV, which already got rejected once by the government and basically has been on their shxt-list ever since, stands even less chance of ever being approved for a license (the govt will now have more companies to compare against and claim that all of them are "more qualified" than HKTV). Like I said in the previous article that I posted — more and more, it's looking like Ricky Wong made a wise decision to pull himself out and instead focus on e-commerce. No doubt he will find more success there than the struggling HK television industry....
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Source: SCMP
Hong Kong to liberalise rules for cross-media ownership in first major broadcasting policy change in 17 years
Cross-media ownership rules in Hong Kong will finally be liberalised under proposed changes to broadcasting regulations widely viewed as outdated since they have remained unchanged for 17 years.
If the suggested changes, laid out in a public consultation document released on Tuesday by the government, are approved by the Legislative Council, newspaper owners, advertising agencies and other media companies will be able to get into the free TV, pay TV or radio broadcasting business.
They had previously been banned from cross-media holdings to avoid editorial uniformity and a potential industry monopoly, but a rapidly changing media landscape and technological advances have prompted a total rethink.
However, the ban on awarding new broadcasting licences will remain in place for those already running free TV, pay TV or radio businesses.
And individuals who have yet to gain permanent residency through seven consecutive years of living in Hong Kong will not be given new licences either, making such businesses off-limits to overseas or mainland Chinese owners.
Besides relaxing cross-media ownership rules, the government also proposed to: refine restrictions on foreign control by allowing non-Hong Kong residents to own more shares in free TV companies without securing the government's approval; allow free TV and sound broadcasting licensees to be subsidiary, rather than independent companies; and keep the status quo in granting approval for broadcasting licenses.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah said "the proliferation of online infotainment covering a range of different tastes, focuses and stances" meant the risk of editorial uniformity in traditional media "had been significantly reduced".
"Our goal is to facilitate innovation of and investment in the industry to bring about greater benefits to the community," Yau said, adding that easing the rules could also help traditional media stay afloat amid increasing competition from their internet-based counterparts.
While the city's dominant free-to-air broadcaster, TVB, welcomed the government move as long overdue, some academics and experts were lukewarm about it, seeing the official approach as too conservative.
The three-month consultation announced on Tuesday is the first major bid to overhaul broadcasting regulations, which were introduced in 2000 when internet access was just expanding. Industry players have long called for a review of the rules, given the evolution of the media landscape.
Current restrictions resulted in mainland Chinese media tycoon Li Ruigang, a major shareholder of The Young Lion Holdings, seeking special approval from then chief executive Leung Chun-ying in 2016 to become a non-executive director of TVB because of his association with an advertising agency across the border and overseas.
In 2000, Richard Li Tzar-kai, a son of tycoon Li Ka-shing, had to obtain special approval from the government to buy Cable and Wireless HKT VOD services. It was because his father and his elder brother Victor, who control Hutchison Whampoa, now called CK Hutchison, are the ultimate owners of Metro Radio.
A TVB spokesman said: "We have, many times in the past, reflected to the government and the Communications Authority that some parts of the Broadcasting Ordinance … were too harsh and out of date."
Major pay TV service operator Cable Television said it was not prepared to comment at this stage.
The head of Shue Yan University's department of journalism and communication, Professor Leung Tin-wai, said: "Rapid advancement in technology is blurring the traditional boundaries between telecommunications and broadcasting. The government is too conservative. It should have removed all the licensing obstacles for media."
Francis Fong Po-kiu, president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, echoed Leung's views: "Many newspapers now run videos to supplement their online reports. And TV stations also make use of the internet to reach out to more audience. It is a bit backward if the government still mulls ways to control the media by means of licensing."
Fong said the proposed changes were also meant to address the "imbalance" in the regulatory regimes for traditional broadcasting services and internet media, as the growth of internet-based TV and audio programme services in recent years had changed the business environment of Hong Kong's broadcasting industry.
According to government studies, the time a viewer spends on free TV dropped from 3.2 hours a day in 2009 to 2.3 hours last year.
In 2009, some 85.6 per cent of the audience would view free TV programmes every day, but the percentage dropped to 71.8 per cent in 2017.
TV advertising revenue fell from HK$13.4 billion (US$1.71 billion) in 2013 to HK$11.9 billion in 2016, while that of digital media rose to HK$5.2 billion in 2016, from HK$3.5 billion in 2013.
In its evaluation of the current regime, the government rejected public calls for the Communications Authority alone to approve free TV licence applications, maintaining that the chief executive in council should remain the authority for free or pay broadcasting services locally.
As for internet-based TV and sound programme services, the commerce minister referred to the experience of regulators overseas and stated the government's preference for such areas to continue operating without broadcast licensing controls.
The public consultation for changes to broadcasting regulations ends on May 19. Later this year, the government will consult the public on proposed amendments to telecommunications regulations, specifically relating to 5G services and the internet of things.
Lawmaker Charles Mok, who represents the IT sector, said the government had not addressed in its consultation paper the issue of quality of programmes in the media.
But he was pleased to see that officials had decided against a licensing scheme for internet-based media.
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ReplyDeleteSo in other words, internet tv series can continue to film as they please. Thought this change would address those series guess not.
ReplyDeleteJust skimmed through the HKTVmall article. This makes things seem very odd. Why sell HKTV shares while still operating HKTVMall? Also what’s the point of the other partner buying those shares then? I would think the other owner would continue with internet series after buying those shares guess not.
@sport: Correct…not surprising though, as there is really no way for the government to regulate the internet because then they would really be encroaching on people’s freedoms. In fact, it looks like the government is taking the opposite stance in recognizing the popularity of web series and knowing they can’t do a thing about it, so instead of curtailing it they are opening up the market to allow others in by making the rules less restrictive. In a way, yes it IS a step in the right direction in that the HK government is “finally” catching up with the rest of the world, though to be honest it’s a little too late because other players already came in and established their presence online long ago without the government’s “help” (i.e. Fox Asia, Netflix, etc.).
DeleteI think it will be interesting to see which companies will now be motivated to submit applications for free TV license. Even with this new change, a lot of the previous restrictions to free TV are still in place, so technically it’s more of a hassle, plus less freedom where creativity is concerned. IMO, the only advantage to getting a free-to-air TV license is the ease of reaching a massive audience without having to exert a whole lot of effort, though nowadays with fewer and fewer audiences actually “watching” TV on a traditional TV set, is it really worth the effort, especially when people who want to watch stuff on a big screen can just get an OTT box and attach it to their TV, which has the same effect….
In terms of the HKTV thing – I think Ricky Wong selling his stake in HKTV to his partner is his way of telling everyone that he is no longer interested in creating and running a TV station. Instead, he’s going back to his roots, which is being an entrepreneur creating and developing successful businesses. RW is a smart guy and I’m sure he knows it makes more sense to go the e-commerce route rather than continue to hang on to a television industry that he is never going to find “true” success in. To your point, he of all people definitely has the potential to turn HKTVmall into another Amazon and I’m sure he knows that, which is why he decided to throw all his energy / efforts / resources into the mall rather than television production. It’s actually a good thing for him and for HKTV and I’m happy for them….sure it’s a huge loss for HK audiences, especially if the partner decides to pull out of the media business entirely (up to this point we haven’t heard from the partner so no clue what he’s thinking, even though when asked by reporters, Ricky Wong still insists that they – HKTV -- have all intentions of resuming production at some point….however now that he sold his shares and is no longer “involved” in the TV production side of things, it’s technically not up to him anymore what happens).
Well I truly hope the partner is planning something in the wraps. It’s for the best if they do resume because Ricky was always too high profile. A low key CEO is needed if HKTV is ever to get on the right track.
DeleteAlso Ricky is best at being an entrepreneur. He’s always wanted his e commerce and TV station to go hand in hand. I think it’s still possible if production resumes.
Did you ever figure ot what the other partner’s name was? Wish he’d give some info to investors for the tv station. Hopefully the silence is to keep their plans a secret until they’re ready.