German expats upset at Now TV fee for Deutsche Welle channel

Pay-television provider Now Broadband TV may have scrapped plans to charge viewers for the Australia Network but the company is not backing down on charging for the Deutsche Welle channel.

Deutsche Welle, which means 'German wave', is Germany's international broadcaster and is similar to the BBC World Service and the Australia Network. It covers news, politics, business and lifestyle from a German perspective and is popular among that country's 3,000-strong expatriate community.

However, the channel has recently been carrying a message from Now TV warning that the service would no longer be provided free.

A member of the German community, who wanted to stay anonymous, said the fee had caused a stir among expatriates who relied on the station to receive news from home. 'Many felt that it was unfair to introduce the fee,' he said.

The channel is available to Hong Kong viewers through the two pay-TV broadcasters. Now TV has been carrying the service free for five years while Cable TV subscribers pay HK$128 for a package of six international channels, including Deutsche Welle.

A spokeswoman for Now TV said its plan to charge for the Deutsche Welle channel, starting from last week, was agreed with the German broadcaster in advance.

'Deutsche Welle understands that Now TV operates in a highly competitive environment and the broadcasting of the channel incurred significant costs,' she said. Now TV had offered the German broadcaster the option of sharing costs so that the channel could remain free but the proposal was rejected, she added.