Cable television service subscribers could receive a seven-day trial period when the nation’s cable operators are asked to offer tiered services to their subscribers next year, National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairperson Howard Shyr (石世豪) said yesterday.
Shyr made the comment at a meeting of the Transportation Committee at the legislature in Taipei, when he was scheduled to brief committee lawmakers on the commission’s plan to require all cable operators to next year charge subscribers based on a tiered-pricing scheme.
Currently, subscribers pay a fixed monthly fee and have access to between 100 and 200 channels.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) said cable subscribers would enjoy greater freedom in their choice of TV channels through the tiered-pricing mechanism, but most people still did not know exactly what channels would be provided depending on the package they choose.
He said that when making online purchases, shoppers are given seven days to decide whether they want to return a product, and the same privilege should be given to cable service subscribers.
“Providing a trial period for cable subscribers is a good idea,” Shyr said, adding that the commission would evaluate the viability of the proposal.
The national average cable subscription fee is NT$540 per month, Shyr said.
He said that the commission wants all the operators to adopt a tiered-pricing scheme next year and provide an all-digital service to their subscribers.
Based on the commission’s plan, the channels would be divided into two packages: basic channels and “a la carte” channels.
The basic channels package would be made up of at least 11 channels, including must-carry channels, public television channels and other channels, with the price tag being capped at NT$200 per month.
Cable operators should also bundle other channels and form them into at least two groups of “a la carte” channels for subscribers to choose from, Shyr said, adding that should people subscribe to all “a la carte” channels, the fee must not exceed NT$300 per month.
The commission’s plan was questioned by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) and Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞).
Lo said that cable operators have reaped a considerable amount of profits over the years, with gross margin topping 70 to 80 percent.
The NT$200 service fee for viewing basic channels serves as a guaranteed source of revenue for the cable operators, she said.
The high rerun rate of programs is a sign of deteriorating cable content quality, Lo said, adding that consumers should have the right to choose only the channels that they want to watch.
Lo and Lee also challenged the NCC’s proposed tiered-pricing scheme, saying that there is no arbitrary rule to determine which channels should be categorized as “basic channels.”
They said that cable operators would likely bundle two or three popular channels with several other less-popular ones and sell them as a package.
In related news, DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) has proposed an amendment to three media regulations, with party legislative caucuses to negotiate the proposal before the legislative session ends next week.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS