New free-to-air TV licences will bring variety to viewing
More channels allow for better quality political debate and that can only be good for the city
I was in Guangzhou last week, taking a taxi to meet some friends. The driver, noticing that I was from Hong Kong, started to complain.
"I used to watch Hong Kong TV programmes," he said. "You know, Guangzhou people just loved whatever was shown on Hong Kong channels. But not anymore. Now, we have hundreds of channels available here. I only watch Hong Kong news sometimes, but from time to time broadcasts are blocked because they touch on politically sensitive issues that authorities here don't like.
"Excuse me if I'm too blunt," he added. "Hong Kong TV programmes no longer appeal to me." Then he recommended I watch mainland TV dramas and told me where to get some cheap DVDs.
I couldn't help feeling embarrassed. The taxi driver was right, at least about one thing. Gone were those days when viewers in the Pearl River Delta defied officials by setting up special antennae to receive TV from this side of the border.
Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong, during the past week or so, speculation spread that the Executive Council had finally come to a consensus about handing out new free-to-air TV licences. The remaining issues are when and how many licences should be awarded to the three applicants: i-Cable Communications, PCCW and City Telecom.
Informed sources revealed that, after careful study, the government has determined it was better to follow public sentiment which favoured competition, rather than hold up the applications and be accused of doing so for political considerations. But this won't happen as quickly as people expect because the big headache will be in picking who will be granted the first licence.
