Make the most of digital radio’s last days in Hong Kong by opening it up to the people

Albert Cheng is saddened by the government’s decision to pull the plug on the technology, and suggests opening up the platform to NGOs and others before operations fully end

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The Digital Broadcasting Corporation office in Wan Chai, last August. The three commercial operators who were awarded a digital radio licence in 2011 have one after another given it up. Photo: David Wong

Published: 5:05pm, 6 Apr 2017Updated: 8:13pm, 6 Apr 2017

Digital audio broadcasting came to a sad end in Hong Kong last week after only six years. It is sad because neither the government nor most of its four operators even tried to pretend to be making the technology a success.

The government’s RTHK aside, the three commercial operators – Digital Broadcasting Corporation (DBC), Phoenix U Radio and Metro Broadcast – were granted digital licences in 2011. They have, one after the other, surrendered their 12-year licences after finding that their business model was not viable as they failed to nurture a sizeable audience. The government announced last week that it would terminate RTHK’s digital arm within six months.

Officials concluded it would not be realistic to rely solely on RTHK to operate on the digital platform without commercial operators.

The government spent HK$60 million in broadcast infrastructure to kick-start the service. The three commercial operators were obliged to invest a combined total of some HK$1 billion in the first six years. This is now money down the drain.

Failures of Pay TV and digital radio leave Hong Kong’s broadcasting policy at a critical juncture

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung is largely to blame. Unlike in other jurisdictions, he failed to make it mandatory for FM radio services to migrate to digital broadcasting, which provides better sound quality that can be supplemented with auxiliary text and image data. The government could also have provided incentives for new imported cars to be fitted with digital receivers.

Like any other mass media endeavour, digital audio broadcasting is no exception to the rule that content is king