Hong Kong, May 26, 2005 — The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), today served notice that the Hong Kong pay-TV industry remains fully engaged in the battle against signal piracy.
CASBAA and its members have been seeking to raise the consciousness of bars and clubs in Hong Kong that screening pay-TV services without legal subscriptions is against the law. Now, legal action is being taken against a bar which, despite being warned, has refused to give an undertaking to cease and desist from airing unlicensed television broadcasts. CASBAA has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction and damages against the bar, as an example.
“It is with regret that we are now taking this step,” said Marcel Fenez, Chairman of CASBAA. “Although we have reached out to the food and beverage industry in particular to raise awareness of the illegal nature of unauthorised distribution of pay-TV signals in public venues we find that these laws are still not taken seriously by many bars and clubs. Some bars refuse to cease these activities despite being warned several times; we have no choice but to take the matter to the courts.”
In parallel with the lawsuit CASBAA is issuing a further series of advisory letters to bars and clubs, as well as to private members clubs, noting that pay-TV television signal theft is not to be tolerated. This issue will be raised with club managements and, if necessary, action will be taken against those that continue to infringe.
CASBAA also commented that it is pleased that some progress is being made. The majority of bar owners approached have given undertakings to cease screening illegal TV broadcasts.
“We commend those clubs and bars that screen only legitimate pay television broadcasts,” said Mr Fenez. “And we continue to encourage bar-goers to contribute to Hong Kongs economy by giving their patronage to businesses airing legal, Hong Kong-licensed TV services. We want people to enjoy their evenings out in bars and pubs, and to do so in a way that ensures adequate remuneration to Hong Kongs service providers, international channel programmers, and the sports leagues who stage the games.”
Under Hong Kong law bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels, such as ESPN or STAR Sports, under an appropriate subscription from a Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operator such as now Broadband Television. Other pay-TV operators such as UBC of Thailand, MultiChoice of South Africa and Dream of the Philippines are not authorised to offer subscriptions in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, besides PCCW (now Broadband TV), the licensed pay-TV operators are Hong Kong Cable Television (i-Cable) and Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting (SuperSUN), all of whom are members of CASBAA.
Pay-TV signal piracy remains a major issue for the broadcasting industry in Hong Kong. In October 2004, it was estimated that the gross cost associated with pay-TV signal piracy in Hong Kong amounted to approximately HK$200 million net over a 12-month period.
“We are all committed to improving this alarming situation so the community is ultimately served with a wider choice and better programming. If vast sums continue to be stolen from the value chain, investment will fall and programming standards will decline,” said Mr Fenez.
It is just twelve months since CASBAA sent warning notices and awareness letters to public venues screening unauthorised pay-TV services.
CONTACT
For further information, please contact:
Ms Rebecca KENNEDY
Communications, CASBAA
Tel: (852) 2854 9913
Email: pr@casbaa.com
ABOUT CASBAA
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel television via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 120 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than 3 billion people. Member organisations include ABN AMRO, AsiaSat, ASTRO, Bloomberg Television, Discovery Networks Asia, EMC, Galaxy, HBO Asia, The History Channel, IBM, i-Cable, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now Broadband TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, Turner International Asia Pacific, UBC, Walt Disney Television International, Anytime, BBC Prime, Freshfields, HSBC, Irdeto Access, Loral Skynet, Mindshare, and TOM Group.