XN000022-1996-07-02 — Page 2

1.

Govt responds to Consumer Council's recommendations on broadcasting

The Government today (Tuesday) issued its response to the Consumer Council's report on competition in the broadcasting environment which was published in January this year.

Describing the report a valuable and timely contribution to the debate on broadcasting policy, the Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport, Mr Chau Tak- hay, said the Government had accepted many of the ideas put forward. In particular, it has accepted the Council's recommendation to review the royalties charged to ATV

and TVB.

"The Government will be putting proposals to the Legislative Council to cut the top rate from 10 per cent to nine per cent, and to restructure the marginal bands," he said.

"On this basis, TVB's 1995/96 royalty payments would have been reduced by almost $20 million, while those of ATV would have fallen by about $45 million," Mr Chau said.

"As part of the same package, the Government will be re-introducing full-cost recovery licence fees, to be implemented in full as soon as the reduced royalty rates come into force," he added.

Responding to the Council's recommendation for a new branch encompassing responsibility for both broadcasting and telecommunications, Mr Chau said the Government fully recognised the significance of converging technologies and the importance of keeping policy abreast of technological and market developments.

However, he pointed out that both the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Branch and the Broadcasting Authority (BA) worked closely with the Economic Services Branch and the Telecommunications Authority, which was represented on the Authority.

"There may be advantage in future in combining policy responsibility for broadcasting and telecommunications," he said. "But broadcasters are only one group of telecommunications users, and the needs of other groups should also be borne in mind.