The National Communications Commission (NCC) conditionally approved the change of operational plans for 34 cable TV broadcasting system operators yesterday, allowing them to replace channels of the Eastern Home Shopping and Leisure Co (EHS) with those of U-life only after the preliminary injunction issued by the Taipei District Court became ineffective.
During the New Year holiday at the beginning of last month, some cable TV operators replaced EHS channels with those of U-life without first securing the commission’s approval.
Each of the service providers was fined NT$700,000 for violating Article 26 of the Cable Television Act (有線電視法), which requires service providers to file for approval of change in channel lineups or any adjustment to their operational plans. They were also asked to reinstate the broadcasting of EHS channels.
EHS and U-life later took the dispute to the media and to the courts.
FIGHTING BACK
EHS took out newspaper advertisements accusing U-life of wrongdoing and filed a preliminary injunction at the Taipei District Court asking that 33 cable TV broadcasting systems be barred from airing the U-life channels.
U-life appealed against the preliminary injunction.
The dispute is now under review by the Taiwan High Court.
The 34 cable TV broadcasting systems that filed for change of operational plans were said to have viewership of approximately 3.2 million households. Only one, in Penghu, will not be affected by the preliminary injunction.
Kao Fu-yao (高福堯), director of the commission’s legal department, said the commission was aware of the legal dispute. Its ruling would free the cable TV systems from the dilemma of whether they should follow the NCC’s ruling or the court’s decision.
“If U-life’s appeal is denied and the injunction remains in effect, the operators will not be obliged to follow the NCC’s ruling,” Kao said.
“But if the court rules in favor of U-life and the injunction becomes ineffective, then system operators can abide by the NCC’s ruling without having to follow the court’s order,” Kao said.
COURT NOTICES
Kao said the NCC had received official notice from the Taipei District Court asking for its assistance.
The official notifications, however, did not say what kind of assistance the commission should provide.
The NCC asked the court for clarification, and the court then wrote to NCC to withdraw the notifications.
NCC spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said the NCC only focused on the review of the adjusted operational plans.
“We did not receive any pressure from any party and will not intervene in the business disputes between the two home shopping networks,” he said.
EHS had said the commission should hold a hearing on the incident.
The commission, however, said the cable system operators and the management of both EHS and U-life had been asked to present their cases to the commissioners, adding that the NCC had never held a hearing on channel changes before.
The EHS published a full-page ad in yesterday’s Chinese-language United Daily News, questioning the fairness of the NCC’s ruling.
U-life said yesterday it would respect the NCC’s ruling.
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