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The Media, Communications and Information Technology

under the Telecommunications Ordinance and the Broadcasting (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance.

As a result of its liberalised, light-handed and pro-competition regulatory approach, Hong Kong enjoys a vibrant broadcasting industry and a multitude of television and radio channels with diversified programming.

Public Service Broadcasting

RTHK is a government department that serves as Hong Kong's public service broadcaster. It provides editorially independent, professional and high-quality radio, television and new media services. The RTHK Charter enshrines RTHK's editorial independence, and sets out its public purposes, mission and relationship with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the CA and the Board of Advisors.

RTHK operates 12 radio channels, with three of them using FM transmission, four using AM and five using digital audio broadcasting. The station produces around 1,107 hours of programmes of different genres in Cantonese, English and Putonghua every week. A pilot project, the Community Involvement Broadcasting Service, continued in 2015, offering two hours of airtime every day on RTHK digital radio channel DAB 31.

Under a trial run of three DTT channels begun in 2014, RTHK produced about 1,303 hours of television programmes for broadcasting on RTHK DTT channels as well as Hong Kong's two free-television stations and pay-television platforms in 2015. RTHK's DTT network coverage has now reached about 75 per cent of Hong Kong's population. RTHK is establishing 22 fill-in stations by phases to extend the network coverage to about 99 per cent of the population, matching that of commercial DTT broadcasters.

In addition to 20.8 hours of new school educational television shows and pre-primary school programmes, an interactive learning platform, eTVonline, provides educational information to complement the government's education policies. RTHK also provides filming and technical support as well as audio and video signals to local and overseas broadcasters for events of public interest, such as the annual National Day celebration and flag-raising ceremony, the delivery of the Chief Executive's Policy Address and the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year.

The RTHK website has average daily page views of 4.8 million. RTHK continues to harness the multimedia potential of emerging media platforms, including providing applications for mobile services (RTHK Cube, RTHK Mine, RTHK On the Go and RTHK Screen) to meet the diverse needs of the public.

In 2015, RTHK launched a dedicated news mobile application, RTHK News, as well as multimedia project 12 Music Visions, integrating the collective efforts of its television and radio divisions and new media unit.

Recent Developments

The government encourages the deployment of DTT broadcasting technology in Hong Kong to enhance spectrum efficiency and enable the provision of television services of higher quality.

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