TNAG-0350-FCO40-386-Future-of-broadcasting-in-Hong-Kong-1972 — Page 76

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Friday, June 16, 1972

of living and more and more people are buying television sets. As

television continues to expand, manufacturers and promoters must of

necessity increase their advertising budgets if they are not to lose

customers to competitors who do use television as a medium for promoting their products or services. At present advertising time on wireless television is restricted to seven minutes per hour subject

to an overall maximum of ten per cent of the total transmission time.

Rediffusion's wired service, on the other hand, is not controlled so

rigidly by the terms of its licence as is HK-TVB and the station may

insert any amount of advertising material in any one hour provided

it does not exceed the ten per cent overall maximum. In practice

Rediffusion has often broadcast over ten minutes of advertising per

hour and on occasions has had as much as 16 or 17 minutes in the hour,

without complaint from the public. It has been accepted therefore that

when there are two or more wireless television stations on the air the

present restriction of seven minutes in the hour will be increased to ten minutes (without increasing the overall ten per cent standard).

This will provide more advertising time at peak viewing hours and

should help the effective distribution of advertising revenues between

the three stations.

Special Services

Additionally, Government has stated that the applicants for

this third licence may if they wish offer special services such as subscription television (although the tender will not be conditional

on this). These special services will be considered concurrently with

other tenders received.

A service which in part provides subscription television free

of advertising would not be operating in full competition for total

advertising with the two other licensees since the station would not be

wholly dependent on commercial advertising for its revenue. It could

however provide a welcome medium for home studies, vocational training

or other desirable programmes for minority audiences.

It is not considered from the financial point of view that any

further television channels can be supported at the present time.

In 1965 Government's policy was that as television is primarily

a medium of entertainment it was preferable to allow commercial

interests to provide this entertainment under the close supervision and

control of a Television Authority rather than to commit public funds in

the order of $20 million per year (funds which could be used to greater advantage in other fields of social services and housing) for the

establishment of a Government television station.

/However.....