The government is considering regulating the actions of cable channel agents after three were punished by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for conduct deemed to have disrupted the market, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
The NCC made the statements after the FTC handed down fines totaling NT$126 million (US$4 million) to Kbro (凱擘), Global Digital Media Co (全球數位媒體) and Best News Entertainment Corp (佳訊視聽).
The FTC said the three had given differential treatment to some cable TV operators without legitimate reasons when they acted as agents to negotiate authorization terms on behalf of cable TV channels.
Global Digital Media is affiliated with China Network Systems (CNS).
Best News Entertainment is affiliated with ERA Communications chairman Lien Tai-shen (練台生), who owns a cable TV system on the east coast.
Kbro, CNS and Lien’s company are three of the larger cable operators in the nation.
NCC spokesperson Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that the dispute began in February when five new cable TV system operators complained that they were being unfairly charged by TV channel operators over the terms for authorized broadcasts of channel content.
As the five new cable system operators continued to broadcast content, but refused to pay the disputed fees, the channel operators complained that the cable operators had violated their contracts and threatened to stop broadcasting signals to the new cable operators.
“We [the NCC] eventually had to intervene to try and settle the dispute, which involves contractual obligations between two private parties,” Wong said. “Because the Cable Radio and Television Act [有線廣播電視法] is inadequate in terms of regulations on the broadcast content authorization, we then had to turn the case over to the FTC as it regulates competition in the market.”
Wong said that he oversaw the negotiations, adding that representatives from the FTC and the Consumer Protection Committee were also at the settlement meetings.
Wong said that the FTC’s ruling should help resolve the disputes between the parties.
The NCC is also considering regulating the agents of cable TV channels via draft bills aimed at media convergence and media monopolization.
Currently, Article 25 of the Cable Radio and Television Act stiupulates that programing provided by cable system operators and their affiliated enterprises shall not exceed 25 percent of usable channels.
“The FTC ruling demonstrates that these agents must not use illegal means to force new operators out of the market,” Wong said, adding that the NCC does not exclude the possibility of restricting the number of channels each cable system can operate or control.
FTC investigations showed that cable channel agents claimed the five new cable system operators had paid a minimum guarantee for authorization fees, which was calculated using 15 percent of registered households in an administrative district.
The same agents then charged old cable television operators based on the number of households subscribing to cable services and gave these cable operators various discounts, the FTC investigation showed.
CNS denied giving differential treatment and said it would focus on further legal action after it had received the FTC’s ruling.
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