The Broadcasting Authority has strongly criticised ATV for transmitting on its local digital channel a mainland-produced news programme that displayed the brand names of commercial sponsors.
The programme Greater China Live is a news and current affairs show produced by SZTV, a television station based in Shenzhen. However, ATV helped to retransmit the programme on its digital channel in Hong Kong.
The violations took place on four days between last December and March of this year.
The authority found that ATV was at fault because it helped broadcast the show, which repeatedly broadcast sponsors' brands and commercial messages, including voiceovers.
'The programme was a news programme,' the statement said. 'As such, the programme was in breach of generic code of practice on television advertising standards, which stipulates clearly that news programmes should not be sponsored.
'The news presenters always made references to the sponsor when they introduced the commentators,' the statement said.
The authority said such displays violated the broadcasting code for a news programme. It called on the station to better monitor its programmes and observe the relevant code of practice.