TNAG-0350-FCO40-386-Future-of-broadcasting-in-Hong-Kong-1972 — Page 79

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Friday, June 16, 1972

The advertising codes contain strict rules relating to medical advertisements and to advertisements directed towards children or

in which children appear.

Other rules cover advertisements for fire

arms, debentures, banks, and money lenders, etc. All advertisements intended for television are also subject to censorship by the Panel

of Film Censors. However, during the period November, 1968 to December, 1970 only 29 advertisements, out of a total of 1,805 viewed, were not approved for television.

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And now I come to my last point what is it going to mean for Hong Kong viewers. Firstly, with a marked increase in the choice of programmes freely available it is almost certain that the number of viewers will increase. Television sets which in 1967 were a large capital outlay for any household are getting cheaper every year and now one can purchase a compact portable set for under $400. Secondly, colour television which was a dream only a few years ago, is now a reality and one can buy a colour set now for about $1,600. These prices will fall still further bringing colour television within the reach of many more viewers. Lastly, with controlled competition such as envisaged by this new policy I think we can only see an improvement in the programmes offered as stations vie with each other to capture the maximum audience. So the Hong Kong viewer is going to have not only more programmes but possibly even better ones to choose from in the years ahead.

Thank you.

Release Time: 1 p.m.

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