XN000022-1972-06-16 — Page 14

4090035

P.R. 33

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT

NFORMATION

SERVICES

DAILY INFORMATION BULLETIN

SUPPLEMENT

Friday, June 16, 1972

TELEVISION IN THE SEVENTIES

Full Text Of Speech By Mr. Watt, Television Authority

The following is the full text of the speech on "Television in the Seventies" by Mr, N.J.V. Watt, Television Authority, to the Rotary Club of Kowloon, North, in the Hong Kong Hotel today (Friday):

Gentlemen,

Before the end of this decade, indeed within the next two or three years, you and your families will have a choice of five television channels coming into your homes by wireless transmission. There will be three Chinese and two English programmes instead of the present one

Chinese and one English wireless television channel.

What has brought about this change?

Why five channels? Why not four or six or even ten?

What is this going to mean for Hong Kong viewers?

These are some of the questions that I will attempt to answer

in the time available to me.

Although I have entitled my talk Television in the Seventies" I think it is necessary to sketch in for you some of the history of the development of television in Hong Kong. As far back as 1955 Rediffusion had been experimenting with wired television and in 1957 was granted an exclusive franchise for the diffusion of television by wire. Interest had also been shown at this time by Rediffusion and others in the establishment of wireless television but it was considered by many at that time that it was not technically possible due to the topographical

features of the Colony.

However by 1963 interest was again shown in the operation of wireless television services and there had been in the meantime technological advances which made such a proposition more feasible.

/It was also....