While the removal of an anti-monopoly clause in recent amendments to the Cable Television Law (
The removed clause stated a restriction on the shareholders of cable TV companies. The restriction stipulated that one shareholder could not possess over 10 percent of the stock issued by a cable TV company, and a shareholder's total holdings could not exceed 20 percent if investments by affiliated businesses and close relatives are included.
However, it is a known fact that many big investors have been able to evade the restriction on the investment limits by borrowing others' people names to represent themselves in a cable TV company.
Two of the most well-known business conglomerates that hold extensive control over the cable TV market are the Rebar Group (
"A monopoly has long existed. The structure of the shareholders doesn't reflect the real situation. And it is hard for the Government Information Office, which doesn't possess investigative power, to track the origin of the investment capital," said an official in charge of cable TV affairs at GIO, who declined to be named.
Compared with the restriction on shareholders, another restriction on the market share of individual investors and their affiliates is more suited to prevent a monopoly, the official said.
The restriction, which was added to the law in 1999, stipulates that the number of subscribers served by an individual investor and his affiliates cannot exceed one third of the total number of subscribers nationwide.
Also, the number of cable TV companies owned by an individual investor and his or her affiliates cannot exceed one third of the total number of cable TV companies nationwide.
According to a rough figure provided by the official, of the 68 cable TV companies nationwide, the Rebar Group and Koo's Group each own approximately 20 -- many of which are controlled indirectly through re-investment and even re-re-investment.
Some cable TV operators that are not supported by any business groups said the real problem is the fact that the business groups are allowed to own cable TV companies, sell channels and even run TV stations, a situation that causes unfair competition and is conducive to the building of a cable monopoly.
"When all the channels are under their control, it is up to them to decide whether we [independent operators] are able to purchase channels," said Frank Lai (
Lai Mao-chou (
"If we did not accept their conditions and sell them a certain percentage of our stock, their next step would be to further lower the subscription fees to NT$1,000 per year," Lai said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Yu Ying-fu (
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