ENG-2010 — Page 429

Communications, the Media and Information Technology | 363

Public Service Broadcasting

Radio Television Hong Kong

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is a government department tasked with providing high quality and professional public service broadcasting through radio, television and new media platforms. It is editorially independent.

RTHK currently operates seven radio channels and produces over 1 030 hours of radio programmes of different genres in Cantonese, English and Putonghua every week.

RTHK produced about 600 hours of television programmes for broadcasting on Hong Kong's two commercial television stations and pay-TV platforms in 2010. In addition to 41.3 hours of new school educational television programmes and pre-primary school programmes, an interactive learning platform, eTVonline, provides information to complement the Government's education policies. RTHK also provides local and overseas broadcasters with audio and video pool feeds of events of public interest. In 2010, it provided them with over 408 hours of video signals of Legislative Council proceedings as well as coverage of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Shanghai Expo.

In August 2010, the Charter of RTHK, governing the operation of RTHK as the public service broadcaster in Hong Kong, was promulgated. The charter enshrines the editorial independence of RTHK. It also sets out the mission, role and functions of RTHK and the department's relationship with the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, the BA and the Board of Advisors. The broad-based Board of Advisors was established in the same month to provide advice to RTHK. The station is planning and preparing for the implementation of various new services, including digital audio broadcasting and digital terrestrial television, as well as ways to facilitate community participation in broadcasting and the reprovisioning of Broadcasting House in Tseung Kwan O.

'RTHK on INTERNET' (www.rthk.hk), launched in 1994, continues to be popular with an average daily hit rate of 36 million. RTHK also continues to harness the multi-media potential of the different emerging media platforms, such as licensing web content to mobile operators and providing podcasting services. In 2010, it introduced two new applications for mobile services, 'RTHK-on-the-go' and 'm.rthk.hk', which widened significantly the reach of RTHK productions to smartphone users.

Recent Developments

The Government encourages the deployment of digital terrestrial television broadcasting technology in Hong Kong to enhance spectrum efficiency and enable the provision of new services such as high-definition television (HDTV) broadcasting. The two incumbent terrestrial broadcasters, Asia Television Limited and Television Broadcasts Limited, launched digital terrestrial television, including the broadcasting of free HDTV programmes and channels in 2007. According to a public survey conducted in December 2010, about 60 per cent of Hong Kong households are receiving digital television via set-top boxes, integrated digital television sets and