The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that it will start its first arbitration meeting with cable service providers and satellite channel operators on Thursday to discuss a dispute over content authorization fees.
NCC spokesperson Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said the dispute began last year as new cable service operators complained they were facing unfair treatment from satellite TV channel agents, who negotiated content authorization fees on behalf of the channel operators with all cable service operators.
“The new cable service operators said they have yet to attract subscribers, but they are asked to pay the same amount of content authorization fees as other cable operators, which is calculated by factoring in 15 percent of the number of registered households in the service area,” Wong said.
“The agents of satellite TV channels said that they were only charging a guaranteed minimum amount from cable system operators,” he said.
Sky Digital Convergence Service (全國數位天空), which is based in Banciao District (板橋), new Taipei City, has signed only 10,000 subscribers since the launch of its cable service last year, Wong said.
However, the content authorization fee that the cable operator has to pay is calculated by factoring in about 74,800 registered households in Banciao, he said.
The pricing mechanism charges all cable systems a fixed content authorization fee, regardless of the number of subscribers each cable operator has, Wong said.
He said this has caused new cable service operators to report the practice to the Fair Trade Commission, which ruled in October last year that major TV channel agents have given differential treatment to new cable operators and operators branching out to new areas.
As such, the agents were collectively fined NT$126 million (US$3.97 million), Wong said.
The new cable operators have also asked the NCC to step in to arbitrate the dispute, Wong said.
“The commission ruled last week that cable, video-on-demand and direct satellite broadcasting systems are considered broadcasting platforms. Content providers must not give differential treatment to different platform operators,” he said.
Asked if established cable operators could also argue that they are being treated unfairly for having to pay a higher content authorization fee than new cable operators, Wong said TV channel agents could consider adopting a progressive approach in charging new cable operators.
“Rather than a fixed content fee for all cable operators, the agents could lower the minimum guaranteed fee for new cable operators and gradually raise the fee to the standard level as the new operators expand their customer base. The negotiation should give room for all parties to survive,” Wong said.
Apart from investigating if channel operators had discriminated against new cable operators through differential pricing schemes, the commission would also investigate if the cable operators discriminated against certain channels by refusing to include them in their channel lineup, Wong said.
Cable operators must not suspend their services because of the dispute with channel operators, he added.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS