The National Communications Commission (NCC) on Wednesday said Formosa TV (FTV, 民視) management must come to the commission for an interview next week to help it review the television network’s license renewal application.
NCC spokesperson Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said FTV’s license is to expire on June 10 this year and the company had filed an application for license renewal at the end of last year.
The commission expects FTV to send its general manager or anyone who could represent the network to make certain commitments to the commissioners, Wong said.
The commissioners also want the network to answer several important questions regarding its operations, Wong said.
“We want to know what the network’s plan is to meet the percentage of domestically produced content required by the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法),” Wong said.
“We have also examined the network’s record and found that it has been penalized quite a few times for violating rules on product placement and accepting sponsorships from advertisers,” he said. “FTV will be given an opportunity to react.”
Meanwhile, the network should inform the NCC if there is any change to its business plan, as it is facing the challenges brought by over-the-top content providers, such as Netflix and Apple TV, and other new media, Wong said.
The commission is aware of disputes between FTV’s management and some of its main shareholders, he added.
“We hope all broadcast media would pay close attention to corporate governance issues, which should not disrupt their daily operations,” Wong said. “They should also bear in mind that they are using government-assigned radio frequencies to provide broadcasting services.”
Formosa TV held a shareholders’ meeting yesterday, and media reported that disputes between the station’s management and some of its main shareholders have intensified as two camps are vying to secure majority ownership of one of the nation’s most profitable television networks.
The company’s management, including chairman Kuo Bei-hong (郭倍宏) and network president Wang Ming-yu (王明玉), controls 5 percent of its shares.
Shareholders opposing FTV’s policy, led by Ve Wong Co’s Taketada Egawa (陳建忠) and Kingbright Electronic co-chairman Song Wen-chou (宋文洲), control 31.5 percent.
The remaining 63.5 percent are owned by other institutional and independent shareholders.
A group of FTV shareholders on Tuesday petitioned the NCC to request that the commission investigate whether funding from Chinese investors was used to purchase shares from small shareholders.
Chinese Communication Management Society president Weber Lai (賴祥蔚) said the dispute arose as its ownership structure remained unclear for many years, which caused people to question the legitimacy of the chairmanship.
“The NCC should use this opportunity to ask FTV to go become a publicly listed or an over-the-counter firm,” Lai said, adding that the network is the only terrestrial television station that has yet to go public.
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