Phoenix Satellite Television Hold-ings Ltd asked Taiwan to reconsider a decision to block China's biggest foreign broadcasting from airing programs in the country, company spokesman Howard Ho said.
Taiwan's Government Information Office approved in May Phoenix's application to broadcast the Chinese-language InfoNews Channel, then retracted the permit in September. Phoenix appealed last month and expects a hearing in December, Ho said.
"We regret the GIO's decision, but we still hope we can convince them and be able to broadcast in every country where there are Chinese people," Ho said.
Taiwan doesn't want too many China-backed channels in the country in advance of parliamentary elections scheduled for Dec. 1, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported yesterday. GIO spokesman Cha Yung-chiang and Ho both declined to comment.
Phoenix wants to boost its profile by airing InfoNews on Taiwan, where it would compete with more than 100 other channels, including Beijing-owned China Central Tele-vision, for an audience among the nation's 22 million residents.
Hong Kong-based Phoenix, which also broadcasts in North America and western Europe, Hong Kong and southeast Asia, is run by former People's Liberation Army officer Liu Changle. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp owns 38 percent of the company.
In China, Phoenix distributes the Chinese Channel to about 42 million viewers, and is seeking a license for InfoNews, which it may not receive this year amid reports that CCTV wasn't happy with Phoenix's blanket coverage of the Sept. 11 US attacks, not matched by the government broadcaster.
The Hong Kong-listed broadcaster turned to a loss of HK$34.9 million (US$4.5 million) in the three months through Sept. 30 from a profit of HK$51.4 million the same period year earlier.
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