New ATV chief defends station's reliance on re-runs
Key figure tight-lipped on possible HKTV tie-up, as Cable TV owner slams government and regulator for unfair handling of spectrum
The new executive director of ATV has defended the station's use of re-runs to fill its schedule, saying the amount of airtime devoted to repeats was not high compared with other channels in the region.
Separately, the owner of Cable TV said the distribution of spectrum by the government and the Communications Authority meant the city's free-TV market was not a level playing field.
Ip said ATV was working towards offering a wider variety of programmes to viewers, adding more current affairs and talk shows. Daily or weekly re-runs of topical news shows were "to facilitate audience members with different daily routines", he said.
Viewers might think the same programme was being repeated because such shows "all look similar - a few people talking on TV", he said.
ATV's current affairs show Asia Policy Unit is shown three times a day, while one talk show is shown twice a day.
Ip's predecessor as executive director, Louie King-bun, was sacked in February - barely six months into the job - after reportedly filing a complaint with the Communications Authority accusing the station's major investor Wong Ching of meddling in ATV's affairs.