On Tuesday, a public hearing was held on the largest broadcast media acquisition in not just Taiwan, but in Asia. The Want Want Group, which owns several news magazines and television stations, both terrestrial and satellite, has allocated NT$76 billion (US$2.6 billion) to purchase China Network Systems (CNS) in its bid to enter the cable TV market. Only one of the seven members of the National Communications Commission bothered to turn up, while no consumer representatives showed.
Company officials spoke for two to three hours, academics chipped in a total of 10 minutes and media oversight and reform groups managed a total of three minutes.
If the commission was not concerned, it is strange that there were rumors that two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators pushed commission members for a prompt conclusion to the review, and that the government itself demonstrated a particular interest in the case.
In addition, why did three commission members decline the invitation to attend, while another three failed to show up?
This suggests that the decision as to whether or not to allow the acquisition to proceed fell entirely to the one commission member who did attend.
If we make the assumption that the point of a public hearing is to give everyone a say on the issue, why was such a huge percentage of the time allotted to the company, as opposed to others who will be affected by the proposed acquisition?
Economists seem to be divided on the issue. Some say that the acquisition, if it goes ahead, will give Want Want 10 percent of the market, whereas others believe that if the company gets what it wants, its share of the broadcast media market would pass the permissible 30 percent level, which is considered a monopoly share, and even reach as high as 40 percent.
Want Want has said the acquisition is a natural progression, and would be like a homecoming for the Chinese subsidiary. No wonder there are concerns that the group would find it difficult to resist the temptation of profiting from its control over the broadcast media, resulting in a highly unbalanced portrayal of cross-strait situations and perspectives.
According to Want Want, the group serves 33 percent of cable subscribers in Taiwan and even if this acquisition is given the green light, Want Want China Broadband (WWCB), a subsidiary of Want Want, would still only have a 23 percent market share.
However, others note that if WWCB adds Eastern Media International Corp to its operation figures, it would be in an excessively strong position, owning several news stations and publications. In that event, the company would have a far greater influence on public discourse.
The only thing the public hearing cleared up was that Want Want would invest NT$7.5 billion over several years to increase digital TV (set-top box) adoption to 80 percent by 2017. Even if achieved, this alone would do little to improve the quality of service for viewers. Programs that give rise to concern now, will still be problematic following the switch to digital. Bringing in digital TV is hardly going to improve the quality of TV hosts.
The commission needs to delay the decision and spend more time deliberating the issue. When they are better prepared, another public hearing can be held. These discussions should also involve cultural affairs bureaus, so that a package can be devised that would ensure higher programming standards.
It is pointless to focus on the cable system that transmits the signal to the exclusion of all else. The main issue is the quality of programming content, not the quality of the medium through which the content is provided.
Feng Chien-san is a journalism professor at National Chengchi University.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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