Profits streaming away: Why Hong Kong broadcasters are crying foul over set-top boxes
TV stations call for pirate set-top boxes to be outlawed; they also want advertising rules eased
On a Sunday afternoon in Golden Computer Arcade, a mecca for gadget aficionados, shop assistants at several basement stores are pushing a few small device said to allow access to a huge quantity of video content on the internet free of charge.
Just a few years ago, the shopping centre in Sham Shui Po was full of "pirate" television set-top boxes accompanied by big screens showing copyrightinfringing films or sporting events. But things changed after customs officers cracked down on the trade.
The breed of boxes now openly on sale run, like many smartphones, on the Android operating system. With specific apps, some of these boxes, which are as small as a power adaptor and sell for just a few hundred Hong Kong dollars each, can enable users to watch content "streamed" over the internet, sparing them the trouble of illicitly downloading programmes.
A lot of programmes transmitted this way appear to be broadcasts from free-to-air operators that require no authorisation, whereas some foreign content seems problematic.
This type of streaming has come to the attention of local broadcasters and is therefore likely to become the latest copyright battle in Hong Kong.
Broadcasters claim that some syndicates obtain content from free broadcasts or through subscriptions to pay channels in other countries and then profit by selling set-top boxes that enable users to watch the streamed content without payment.
TVB, the top free-to-air terrestrial broadcaster in Hong Kong, says this is "streaming piracy" and should be restrained, because it is hurting the local creative industry.