The Taiwan agents of the popular cable TV channel HBO announced a plan yesterday to avoid further uproar among TV viewers, while uneasy negotiations continued between cable TV operators and channel agents for license renewals.
Representatives from TV Time Entertainment Networks, Inc (
HBO's current license expires on Jan. 8.
Tu Teh-yen (
The company may also consider running commercials on the HBO channel to cut prices and make negotiations easier, said Wu Chih-ching (
Meanwhile, Chao made an appeal to the public to give him some more time to work out solutions.
Chao, a former CEO of two local cable TV stations, has come under criticism for his perceived inability to effectively handle the dispute, seen as due largely to his long-term involvement in the electronic media business before his appointment as GIO chief a month ago.
A report in the chinese-language press said yesterday that Chao, former CEO of Global TV (
Meanwhile, local governments yesterday continued to talk tough to cable TV operators that shifted or stopped broadcasting certain channels.
Kaohsiung City Government's Department of Information issued an ultimatum yesterday to local cable TV firm Tahsin (大信) to resume broadcasting or face a NT$500,000 fine. In Taipei County, the county government slapped NT$100,000 fines on two cable TV operators in Hsintien and Sanchung cities.
Meanwhile, officials from the Fair Trade Commission said they had arrived at an initial conclusion that joint sales operations by some cable TV firms in central and southern Taiwan violate the Fair Trade Law.
About 80 percent of Taiwan's cable TV market is controlled by two conglomerates, Eastern Multimedia and United Communications. The annual price wars between the two groups and independent channel agents, and the resulting channel shifts and suspensions, have now become a yearly ritual across Taiwan.
Since the early 1990s, the number of cable companies nationwide has shrunk from 600 to the current level of about 70.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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