WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1975
RHK MAY GO PARTLY COMMERCIAL
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THE GOVERNMENT WILL CONSIDER MAKING RADIO HONG KONG'S BROADCASTING FACILITIES AVAILABLE TO COMMERCIAL INTERESTS FOR PART OF EACH DAY, THE DIRECTOR OF BROADCASTING, MR. JAMES HAWTHORNE, SAID TODAY.
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HOWEVER, THIS COULD NOT BE DONE, HE SAID, UNTIL COMMERCIAL RADIO LTD. RELINQUISHES ITS MONOPOLY OF COMMERCIAL SOUND BROADCASTING THAT IS, WHEN COMMERCIAL TELEVISION LTD. BEGINS TRANSMISSION.
MR. HAWTHORNE, WHO WAS SPEAKING AT A ROTARY CLUB LUNCHEON OF HONG KONG ISLAND EAST, SAID HE COULD NOT ELABORATE +SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS PART OF THE WIDER PROBLEM OF COMMERCIAL RADIO DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG.+
HE ADDED: +THIS PROBLEM IS OF COURSE BEING EXAMINED BUT CANNOT BE RESOLVED UNTIL THE MANY TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS HAVE BEEN FULLY STUDIED FOR EXAMPLE, HOW WE STAND WITH AM TRANSMISSION DEVELOPMENT, HOW WE STAND WITH FM AND STEREO DEVELOPMENT.+
SOME DECISION ON FREQUENCY ALLOCATION, HE POINTED OUT, HAD TO BE TAKEN OUTSIDE HONG KONG AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL.
ON RHK-TV, MR. HAWTHORNE SAID THAT THE PROGRAMMES PRODUCED BY THE UNIT WERE AMONG THE BEST IN HONG KONG AS EVIDENCED BY THE RECORD AUDIENCES THEY ATTRACT.
'BELOW THE LION ROCK, FOR INSTANCE, HAD A TOTAL REGULAR AUDIENCE OF 2.7 MILLION, AND A SURVEY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT SHOWED THAT THE RECENT EPISODES WITH POLICE THEMES WERE SEEN BY 75 PER CENT OF THE POPULATION.
THE LATE NIGHT CHINESE CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAMME NEEDLE POINT' WAS WATCHED BY A WEEKLY AUDIENCE APPROACHING ONE MILLION, HE SAID, AND INDICATIONS WERE THAT TWICE THIS NUMBER. WATCHED THE PROGRAMME DEALING WITH THE TELEPHONE ISSUE A FEW WEEKS AGO.
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