HONG KONG 2005

The broadcasting policy objectives are to promote programme choice and diversity through competition, facilitate the introduction of new, innovative broadcasting services and enhance Hong Kong's position as a regional broadcasting hub.

Hong Kong's regulatory regime is technology-neutral. The provision of television services and carriage networks are regulated separately so that a television programme service provider may hire any transmission network operators to transmit its service instead of investing heavily in transmission infrastructure itself. This arrangement facilitates market entry.

Under the Broadcasting Ordinance, the four categories of television programme services — domestic free, domestic pay, non-domestic (mainly satellite television services for the region) and other licensable television programme services (mainly television service for hotel rooms) — are regulated according to their nature and pervasiveness rather than the transmission mode. The former two categories of licences are issued by the Chief Executive in Council, and the latter two by the Broadcasting Authority (BA).

The BA is the statutory regulator of the broadcasting sector. It comprises nine non-official members from various sectors of the community and three public officers. The BA's main function is to safeguard proper standards of television and sound broadcasting with regard to both programme and advertising content and technical performance. This is done through regular consultation with the public through a television and radio consultative scheme and focus group discussions to collect audience feedback. The BA publishes codes of practice on programme, advertising and technical performance which licensees have to observe. The BA is also responsible for enforcing the competition provisions under the Broadcasting Ordinance and it makes recommendations to the Chief Executive in Council on applications for and renewals of sound broadcasting, domestic free television and domestic pay television licences.

In light of the advent of new technologies and convergence in the communications sector, the BA will examine its regulatory approach to ensure sufficient flexibility and competition for the broadcasting market to operate effectively and efficiently.

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), a government department, is an editorially independent broadcaster whose mission is to provide quality programmes that inform, educate and entertain the people of Hong Kong. RTHK's television programmes are broadcast on free-to-air and pay television channels. RTHK productions have won acclaim locally and internationally and its television programmes constantly score the highest average rating in the Appreciation Index Survey, a public opinion survey jointly sponsored by RTHK, Asia Television Limited (ATV), Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and Hong Kong Cable Television Limited. RTHK programmes received 32 commendations at international and local television festivals in 2005. RTHK has been broadcasting online since 1994. The daily average hit rate of RTHK on the Internet is 23 million. It was the host broadcaster of the World Trade Organisation Hong Kong Ministerial Conference held in December in Hong Kong.

RTHK plays an important role as a broadcaster of essential public information. For instance, in 2005 its Radio Division made considerable efforts to arouse the public's awareness of the prevention of avian flu and other health-related topics.

Broadcasting, telecommunications and information technology are converging. Due to the development of digital technology, communications companies can provide digitised broadcasting, telephony and Internet access services over the same telecommunications network. The Government has been reviewing the regulatory regime to ensure that it remains conducive to new technological and business developments. It is considering merging the BA and the Telecommunications Authority into a unified regulator responsible for overseeing the whole electronic communications sector. Such an institutional arrangement, which is the international trend, will enable the regulator to have the vision and jurisdiction to cope with challenges in the converging environment. The Government will consult the public on details of the proposal in 2006.

The Government encourages the deployment of digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting technology in Hong Kong to enhance spectrum efficiency and enable the provision of new services such as high-definition television (HDTV) broadcasting, which is not possible in the analogue mode. In July 2004, the Government promulgated a framework for implementing DTT broadcasting in Hong Kong. The two incumbent terrestrial broadcasters, ATV and TVB, are required to launch DTT, including HDTV programmes, by 2007, and achieve 75 per cent of coverage of their digital services by 2008. Implementation of DTT is underway.