© 2010 Rapid TV News
Rose Major ©RapidTVNews | 04-01-2010
Hong Kong’s City Telecom has applied to regulator the Broadcasting Authority for a free-to-air TV licence, and competitor i-Cable plans to do the same.
City Telecom announced to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 31 that it had “submitted an application for the Domestic Free Television Programme Service Licence in Hong Kong to the Broadcasting Authority, to provide free television programme services in Hong Kong.”
The statement added that City Telecom estimated a maximum cumulative investment of HK$210 million in the service before it reached positive free cash flow.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg is reporting that i-Cable, which operates the Hong Kong Cable TV platform, is also planning to apply for a licence this month. But under existing rules, pay-TV operators may not also hold a free-to-air licence. City Telecom has no pay-TV offering, just telecoms and broadband.
There are two free-to-air broadcasters currently offering channels in Hong KOng: market leader Television Broadcasts (TVB) and Asia Television (ATV).
© Rapid TV News 2010
