}
Rediffusion
A franchise to operate a wire broadcasting system was granted to Broadcast Relay Service (H.K.) Ltd. (subsequently. renamed Rediffusion (H.K.) Ltd.), which is associated with the Company of the same name in the United Kingdom, in July 1948. Broadcasting was formally inaugurated on the 22nd March, 1949 with an opening address by the Governor. The popularity of this service is shown by the increase in the number of subscribers from under 1,000 on the opening date to over 20,000 as at 31st December, 1949.
The Company's headquarters, comprising offices, studios. and workshops, are in a separate building in Hennessy Road, and its broadcasts are carried to subscribers through three amplifying stations, two on the Island and one in Kowloon, and 358,000 route yards of wire. The wireless receiving station is situated at Shatin in the New Territories. There are two networks, the Blue network carrying European pro- grames and the Silver network carrying Chinese programmes; each programme is continuous from 7 a.m. to midnight. A switch on each receiver gives the subscriber a choice of either network. The programmes consist partly of relays from Radio Hong Kong, the B.B.C., Manila, Australia and elsewhere, and partly of recorded and "live" matter originated in the Company's own studios. Approximately 10% of programme time is commercially sponsored. The fee charged to subscribers is $9 per month, and the Company pays to Government a fee of $1 per month in respect of each subscriber who does not hold a Broadcast Receiving License.
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