ENG-1998 — Page 417

COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

1999. The BA's Complaints Committee dealt with 1 326 complaints in 1998. On advice from the Complaints Committee, the BA issued nine warnings and five serious warnings, and imposed four financial penalties ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.

Television

Hong Kong's television viewers can access up to 48 domestic and regional television channels in various languages. These include four free-to-air commercial channels funded by advertising, 40 pay TV channels funded by subscriptions, and a variety of free-to-air satellite channels.

Terrestrial Television

The two commercial stations, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and Asia Television Limited (ATV), are each licensed to broadcast one Cantonese and one English-language channel until 2000. During 1998, the two stations broadcast about 600 hours of programmes each week. The World Cup programmes were the most prominent coverage of the year. Serialised dramas, entertainment magazines, game contests and variety specials remained the most popular programmes. Both stations are required by law to broadcast programmes as the Broadcasting Authority may specify. These include programmes produced by the publicly-funded Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), which produces about 10 hours of programmes weekly to supplement the commercial TV stations' output.

Cable Television

Hong Kong Cable Television Limited (HKCTV) (formerly known as Wharf Cable Limited) is licensed to operate a pay TV service until 2005. It broadcasts a total of 36 channels - 20 of them receivable by subscribers on Microwave Multipoint Distribution System (MMDS) network. Those served by the fibre-optic network get all 36 channels. The basic service includes several locally-produced channels, notably a 24-hour Cantonese news service, and channels devoted to sports, movies, music, children's programmes, finance and horse racing, HKCTV also carries several overseas channels, such as BBC World Service, CNNI, ESPN and Jet TV.

By the end of 1998, more than 980 000 homes were passed by HKCTV's MMDS network, and about 629 000 homes were served by its optical fibre network. The number of household subscribers was over 400 000 at the end of 1998.

Satellite Television

Many regional and international broadcasters have chosen Hong Kong as their Asian broadcasting hub, attracted by the excellent infrastructure and world-class telecommunication facilities, as well as the other ingredients that make Hong Kong the best place to do business in Asia. Hong Kong is the home base for Satellite Television Asian Region Limited (STAR TV). It transmits more than 60 programming services in eight languages on 28 channels and has an audience reach of approximately 360 million people across Asia, India and the Middle East, using AsiaSat 1, AsiaSat 2 and Palapa C2 as its satellite platform. The STAR TV network offers subscription and free-to-air television services.

Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting Limited, another satellite television broadcaster based in Hong Kong, officially launched its service in August 1998. Using the Apstar IIR satellite, it offers one entertainment channel and one music channel. Both

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