Nova Media CEO Cheng Chien-chih (鄭乾池) accused the Taipei City Government of coercing the company into donating the LED panels for the Taipei Arena’s facade.
The LED-lit facade of the Taipei Arena at the intersection of Nanjing E Road and Dunhua N Road is to be deactivated next month, as the contract allowing Nova Media to use the display is to end this month.
Despite informing the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), which oversees the arena’s operations, that he would donate the panels to the city government, Cheng on Tuesday said he felt forced to make the donation.
The Taipei City Government holds a 74 percent stake in the TRTC.
Cheng said the TRTC issued two notices informing Nova Media that the donation must be completed by May 13, otherwise the panels would be removed and the company would face a penalty of NT$5 million (US$153,130) for breach of contract.
He expressed frustration over the tone of the notice, saying he would rather donate the panels to someone else.
The TRTC said Nova Media had last month said in a letter that it would donate the panels to the city government, adding that taking the contract’s approaching expiry date into consideration, it set a deadline for the firm to complete the donation before that date.
TRTC business division director Chan Wen-tao (詹文滔) said Nova Media could not meet the deadline, as its internal paperwork to process the donation would not be completed until the middle of next month, which amounts to a breach of contract.
“All reminders to Nova Media were issued to prevent the company from breaching the contract,” Chan said.
He said the TRTC hopes to revise the contract to include the date on which the donation is completed to the document to avoid possible disputes.
If the donation goes smoothly, the transportation company expects to start receiving bids for the right to operate the display late next month, Chan said.
Asked if he would consider donating the LED panels to another party, Cheng said he would still donate them to the city government, albeit “grudgingly.”
Cheng said the arena’s LED facade is one-of-a-kind in Asia and has been in service for nine years, and that it would be a pity if the panels were removed.
The TRTC said the monthly royalty payment for a firm to use the facade is NT$460,000 and that the royalty set in the new contract would be determined by the free market.
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