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The following is issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority:
The Broadcasting Authority (BA) invites members of the public to express their views on the performances of two sound broadcasting licensees, namely Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited (CRHK) and Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited (Metro).
The licences of CRHK and Metro were last renewed for a period of 12 years commencing in August 2004 by the Chief Executive in Council (CE in C). Condition 6.2 of the licences provides that pursuant to Section 13D of the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106), the licences shall be subject to review by the CE in C on or after August 26, 2010, as the Chief Executive may determine by order. The CE had specified by notice in the Gazette that the review should start on September 16, 2010. To take forward the review, the BA decided to conduct a two-month public consultation from September 16 to November 15 to gauge public views on the services of the two licensees.
The BA will evaluate the licensees' performance against the various requirements under the law, the sound broadcasting licences and the codes of practice before making recommendations to the CE in C for the purpose of mid-term review of the licences. The BA will take into account public views received in making recommendations to the CE in C.
The BA has published an information booklet on the services provided by the licensees for the mid-term review so as to facilitate members of the public to give informed views on the performance of CRHK and Metro. The information booklet includes summaries of the current programming and advertising requirements for the licensees, complaint records and the investment plans of the licensees. Members of the public may collect the information booklets at district offices of the Home Affairs Department or visit the BA website (www.hkba.hk).
Two public hearings will be held at Youth Square Y Studio and Tsuen Wan Town Hall Cultural Activities Hall from 7pm to 9pm on September 24 (Friday) and October 13 (Wednesday) respectively. Members of the public may call 2594 5926 or visit the BA website (www.hkba.hk) for details and make reservations to attend the public hearings.
Apart from the public hearings, members of the public are invited to send written comments on the mid-term review by mail to 39/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai; by fax to 2507 2219 or by email to ba@tela.gov.hk. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2010.
Ends/Thursday, September 16, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:33
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