Key matches were shown in entirety

I refer to the letter from Rennie Marques (South China Morning Post, March 29) regarding ATV's exclusive right to broadcast the 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

ATV World was the only free-to-air terrestrial TV station to offer coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

The expansion of the Sevens from a two-day to three-day format has now made blanket coverage of the tournament impossible. Our broadcasting licence, issued by the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, requires us to offer a variety of programming on a daily basis.

Special application had to be made to the Government to reschedule some of our regular programmes to accommodate the live Sevens coverage.

ATV broadcast in excess of 14 hours of the Rugby World Cup over the three days, most of which was live, as well as a 60-minute highlights programme on March 29.

All the key games were featured in their entirety and where full coverage was not possible, reports and highlights were given to viewers to bring them up to date with the action.

Mr Marques might like to note that all of Hong Kong's viewers are able to receive terrestrial TV whilst many have yet to gain access to alternative forms of television.

JERMYN LYNN Controller - PR Promotion International Affairs and Sport Asia Television Ltd