i think thei
is
Argument questionable/ ANG.
Hong Kong Department
TELEVISION IN HONG KONG
1. Mr Dennis of Rediffusion Ltd called to see me on 3 March to tell me about his recent trip to Hong Kong. Although it was known that the Government had received a report from its Working Party on future TV broadcasting its contents were still confidential although there were a number of rumours. It also seemed to be generally known that the report had been considered at EXCO on 22 February though examina- tion of it had apparently not been completed.
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2. Mr Dennis said that the rumour was that the Financial Secretary was insisting on the second wireless TV channel being put to open tender and not to negotiation with RTV (HK) He said very frankly that RTV was not doing very well financially one reason for this being the fact that because of trouble over copyright, of which/were aware, they had been unable to expand into the reproduction over wire of TV B's broadcasting. If the second wireless TV channel were to go to another company RTV would not be able to compete and would go out of business. He had hoped therefore that Government would have been willing to negotiate to see that they got the second channel through the tender process. If this was so it seemed a tortuous way of going about it. He did not think that anyone in Hong Kong would think it strange if RTV, who had run a public service for 15 years and whose licence terminated in April 1973, were permitted to continue the service which they had pioneered in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government had taken so long to make their minds up that it would be impossible for RTV (HK) if selected, to operate the second wireless TV service to do so before January 1974. Any firm starting from scratch probably could not start till six months later still. It was after all not normal to put to tender franchises which expired like those of the telephone company, or for that matter the electricity company when it fell due. Nor would Crown leases be put to public tender when they came to an end. Why therefore should it be done in this one case, the effect of which might well be to kill a British company?
3. I said that I had not read the Government report (which was true - though I had read the EXCO paper and conclusions) so I could not, even if it had been proper to do so, reveal to him its contents. I asked if RTV would be up against competition if the second wireless TV service were put to tender. He said that the Japanese would certainly tender and he expected other British firms might do so. He also feared that the service might fall into undesirable political hands. (I do not know whether he meant Peking or Taiwan, but either would be possible under a suitable front).
4. Mr Dennis said that RTV (HK) were so disturbed at the prospect of going out of business that Mr Warren, the Managing Director, and he had asked to see the Colonial Secretary. Sir H Norman Walker had replied
that it would not be proper for him to receive them since the matter was under consideration by EXCO of which he was a member. (It was probably from him that Mr Dennis heard that the matter had been considered once and was to come up again). If they had any representations to make they should make them in writing;
he would
/submit