Radio_Hong_Kong_1971-1972 — Page 8

of audiences, particularly during the mornings and evenings, because of the effect of television, this reduction was not as great as it would have been had not the changes in the programme pattern of the Chinese Service been carried out. These changes had been made as a result of information provided by the first survey, carried out in 1969. It is hoped to carry out further surveys into both Chinese and English listening habits in 1972, and from general indicators at the time of writing this report, it is possible that these surveys will show that radio has regained some of the audience lost to television during the years between 1968 and 1971 when the television audience was growing at an extremely rapid rate.

6. During the year, the Government established a working party to consider the future of television when the present exclusive licences of RTV and HKTVB come to an end, and this party recommended, by a majority, that there should be a total of five commercially operated broadcast television services, three in Chinese and two in English. The working party also recommended that the role of RHKTV be widened relying on the commercial stations to provide transmission time for its programmes.

CHINESE SERVICE

7. The Chinese Service operates for a total of 20 hours each day. Programmes are broadcast from 0600 to midnight on AM and FM with the service splitting into two entirely different programmes from 0800 until 0900 and again from 2000 until 2115 each evening.

8. The service is divided into five main sections: Public Affairs, News and News Magazines, Music and Presentation, Drama and Entertainment. Each section is headed by a Programme Supervisor responsible to the Head of the service.

9. The need for some reshaping of the Chinese schedule became apparent as a result of the Audience Survey in early 1971. This resulted in the concentration of more programmes featuring light entertainment in peak listening hours, the careful placing of programmes with due regard to listener habits revealed by the survey, the breaking up of long periods of unrelieved talk with regular musical programmes, and a marked increase in the production of radio drama.

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