HKTV denied free-to-air TV license

Broadcaster decries government’s stab in the back.

Hong Kong’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau will instead issue the free TV licenses to PCCW and i-Cable, the city’s two pay-TV operators. The two networks will compete against TVB and Asia Television, which have been providing free-to-air TV for decades.

Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV) owner Ricky Wong told media he was shocked by the decision since it was the government that invited him to make a bid for a license in the first place. Wong said he has invested more than $116 million in the venture.

“The news itself is a shock to the management and to the staff as well…I believe this decision goes against public opinion,” he said. He viewed the process as “unfair, unreasonable and non-transparent.”

The government’s decision has been criticized by local politicians, radio hosts and the Hong Kong public, who had all been enthusiastic about the prospect of a new producer of serial TV dramas and other high-quality, Chinese-language programming offers.

Politicians and some 400,000 locals have signed a Facebook petition set up shortly after the decision. The petition demands that the government give a full account of the reasons for denying HKTV’s license.