August 2013
Hong Kong Government Pressed to Make a “Decision”
Ken-ichi Yamada
In Hong Kong, an issue on whether to grant “free-to-air TV” licenses, which are currently possessed only by two broadcasters, TVB and ATV, to three start-ups is attracting a great deal of attention. According to a public opinion survey, 84.9% of the respondents said yes to the Hong Kong government’s granting of new free-to-air TV licenses, well outnumbering those who said no (2.9%). The Broadcasting Authority (BA), a government regulatory body, also recommended that “it would be reasonable to grant licenses to all the three companies.” However, Executive Council, which is supposed to make the final decision as the executive branch of Hong Kong, has been procrastinating on its decision for two years. It is said that the delay is partly due to an “economic” reason that conventional free-to-air TV licensees, TVB and ATV, are against the additional licensing on the ground of Hong Kong’s small-sized advertising market, but many in the media industry assume that the real reason is “political.” Their view is that, since not a few people in Hong Kong have a sense of aversion to the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government has reservations about the issuance of additional licenses because the promotion of the competition in the TV industry may increase the critical coverage of China in order to gain high ratings. There is no clear evidence to prove which is the main reason, but one thing that is clear is that Hong Kong government’s procrastination without providing a concrete reason has somewhat underpinned the argument for “political reason.” In addition, as people in the media point out in unison, the new licensing to the three companies is expected to have a positive impact on Hong Kong’s freedom of speech. It is indispensable for the Hong Kong government to make a decision on this issue with no more loss of time and to disclose the reason for the granting or non-granting of the licenses in a manner that is convincing to the people of Hong Kong.