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Friday, June 16, 1972
It was also considered that competition for Rediffusion at that
time the sole television operator
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was desirable and in 1965 one
licence for a wireless television station was offered by public tender. Such was the interest in this new station that eight tenders were received and in 1967 the licence was awarded to Television Broadcasts
Ltd. who commenced broadcasting on a limited scale from the main transmitter at Temple Hill in November of that year.
Television Broadcasts licence granted them a monopoly of wireless television for a period of five years and in that time there
had been a tremendous increase in the interest shown in television
both by the viewing public and by advertisers.
Since 1967 TVB has activated nine subsidiary transmitters
thereby enabling its programmes to be received in most of the more
populous areas. One year after TVB started broadcasting, it was estimated that there were a total of 107,000 sets capable of receiving wireless television. By the end of 1971 this figure had risen to over 500,000 and latest estimates put the figure at close on 600,000 of which it is thought that over 13,000 are capable of receiving colour transmissions. This means that approximately 95.7 per cent of the population over 12 years of age are able to view wireless television
in their homes.
Medium For Advertising
At the same time television, as a medium for advertising, had been growing more effective as evidenced by the rise in the cost of
advertising on wireless television. When broadcasting commenced in 1967 the cost of 30 seconds of advertising at prime time on the Jade Channel was $360. The current rate for the same 30 second time slot is $1,990.
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So you can see that, in step with television growing in popularity as a means of entertainment, it has at the same time become
a widely accepted medium for commercial advertising which is fortunate
since without such support the station could not remain viable. The exclusive part of TVB's licence, as I said, expires in November this year, Rediffusion's 15-year wired T.V. franchise is also due to expire in April of next year. A thorough review of broadcasting policy in general was therefore necessary to determine whether there was room for further expansion and whether in fact more expansion was desirable.
/It seemed........