Cable TV looks to terminate pay TV broadcast from June

Hong Kong Cable Television (Cable TV) has gained approval from the government to surrender its domestic pay TV licence and it is looking to terminate its pay TV broadcast on 1 June, due to fierce competition among global paid content providers and pay TV operators.

According to the official press release, Cable TV has submitted an application for the surrender of the domestic pay television programme services licence (Pay TV licence) to the government and has been granted approval on 14 February. This is due to the rapidly changing media landscape in Hong Kong and fierce competition within the industry, according to the release.

After the surrender of the pay TV licence, Cable TV’s parent company, i-Cable Communications together with its subsidiaries and consolidated structured entities will continue to provide free TV programme services and other businesses as usual, including broadband telecommunications services, telephony services, network construction and mobile services. Cable TV's talents and resources can be more flexibly utilised and invested in the aforementioned business developments.

The broadcaster expects to terminate its pay TV broadcast from June and it will handle the arrangement of existing subscribers’ pay TV service and related matters as appropriate. Cable TV will begin to notify customers on the details of service termination and arrangements through various channels such as email, company website, Facebook, text messages, letters and monthly statements.

“Cable TV will use its best endeavour to ensure customers can continue to enjoy watching both pay TV and free TV channels before the licence is surrendered. After the surrender of the Pay TV licence, Cable TV will continue to take measures to ensure the reception of the existing free TV channels by the public is unaffected,” the statement read.

The Hong Kong government also said that after examining Cable TV's application, the Chief Executive-in Council agreed that Cable TV's surrender of licence is purely a commercial decision. "Understanding that Cable TV has been operating at a deficit in recent years amid a difficult business environment, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said the licence surrender is purely commercially driven and the government respects its decision," the statement read. 

The bureau added it understood that other businesses under the group companies of i-Cable, Cable TV’s mother company, including the free television services of Fantastic TV and telecommunications services, will not be affected.It also said the government has reminded Cable TV to properly handle the exit/migration arrangements of its subscribers in order to protect consumer rights as well as to handle the follow-up arrangements for its staff in strict compliance with the Employment Ordinance.

Meanwhile, customers may choose to keep the existing TV set-top box and their accessories, while Cable TV will provide guidance and recommendations on their handling.Cable TV will also set up collection points for customers who wish to return the TV set-top boxes and their accessories for recycling purposes. 

To show appreciation for its customers’ continuous support, Cable TV will make available 10 premium channels including entertainment, movies, kids and documentary genres to all residential pay TV customers from 15 February to 31 May.

Furthermore, i-Cable Communications will continue to invest in its digital assets to support its free TV business, according to an announcement on HKEX. The group recorded monthly active users of 1.67 million and 0.187 million on its i-cable.com and hoy.tv websites in December 2022, representing year-to-year growth of 203% and 80% respectively. With over a million followers on the group’s social platforms, the group intends to leverage developing viewing habits and continue to optimise content delivery over the internet.

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