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The following is issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority:
The Broadcasting Authority (BA) issued the following statement in response to the announcement by Mr Francis Leung today (November 12) on the acquisition by various parties of the shareholding in PCCW Limited:
The BA will remain vigilant to ensure that the conditions in the domestic pay television and non-domestic television programme service licences held by the two subsidiary companies under PCCW Limited and the cross-media restrictions under the Broadcasting Ordinance (BO)(Cap. 562) are duly complied with.
Two subsidiary companies of PCCW Limited, namely PCCW Media Limited (PCCW Media) and Starbucks (HK) Limited, hold, respectively a domestic pay television programme service licence and a non-domestic television programme service licence under the BO to provide pay TV in Hong Kong and satellite TV uplinking from Hong Kong to the Asia-Pacific region. The television licences were granted to these companies based on an assessment of the statements and representations made in their licence applications (known as Licensees' Proposals), which include among other things the legal and beneficial interests in the voting control and shares in the licensees. The two licensees are required to comply at all times with their Licensee's Proposals. If there is any change in the corporate and shareholding structures as represented in the Licensees' Proposals, the two licensees have to apply for waivers from the BA.
The two licensees have earlier made applications to the BA for the requisite waivers and the BA approved the applications on October 28, 2006, with the clear provisos that the waivers shall not take effect before the completion of the transfer of all the interests and title in PCRD's shareholding in PCCW Limited, and that the waivers shall cease to have effect or be effective upon any change in shareholding and control in relation to the buyer of PCRD's shareholding in PCCW Limited, the two licensees themselves and the relevant controllers and shareholders as submitted in their applications. Thus, if the acquisition by various parties of the shareholdingin PCCW Limited announced today would lead to further changes in the corporate and shareholding structures of the respective licensees as submitted by them, the two licensees are required to submit updated information to apply for suitable waivers from the BA.
In addition, domestic pay television programme service licensees are subject to cross-media ownership restrictions (known as "disqualified persons" provisions) under the BO to safeguard against the risks of media concentration and editorial uniformity. Disqualified persons include another broadcasting licensee (in relation to domestic pay television programme service licensees, non-domestic television programme service licensees are not disqualified persons), an advertising agency and a proprietor of a newspaper printed or produced in Hong Kong, and their controllers and associates (including relatives).
The onus of complying with the provisions rests with the licensees. If the acquisition by various parties of the shareholding in PCCW Limited will result in any disqualified person exercising control of PCCW Media Limited, PCCW Media Limited is required to apply for prior approval from the Chief Executive in Council (CE in C). The BA has reminded PCCW Media that PCCW Media and each of the relevant controllers and shareholders should comply with the disqualified persons provisions in the BO.
Ends/Sunday, November 12, 2006
Issued at HKT 20:00
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