Media watchdog groups yesterday urged the National Communications Commission (NCC) to adopt strict criteria to screen planned acquisitions of the country’s two largest cable TV operators by Fubon Group and Want Want Group.
According to the Campaign for Media Reform and Taiwan Media Watch, the acquisitions will allow the two business groups, which already have a significant presence in the media market, to further expand their control over the nation’s broadcasting industry.
The commission should seek to revise the law to restrict such cross-media acquisitions, they said.
TSAI FAMILY
Fubon Financial Holding Co chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and his brother, Taiwan Mobile Co chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興), plan to acquire Kbro Co, Taiwan’s largest cable TV operator, through the recently established Da-fu Media, which was set up expressly for the acquisition.
Meanwhile, Want Want Group, which owns the Chinese-language China Times daily, CtiTV and China Television Co, intends to acquire the nation’s second-largest cable TV operator — China Network Systems.
CONDITIONAL APPROVAL
The acquisition bid for Kbro by the Tsai family was granted conditional approval by the Fair Trade Commission last month and is pending evaluation by the NCC.
A previous attempt by Fubon Group to acquire Kbro through Taiwan Mobile was blocked by the communications regulator on the grounds that it violated a ban on public ownership of media groups.
The Taipei City Government holds a stake in Fubon Financial Holding Co, the majority shareholder of Taiwan Mobile.
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