Three cable TV providers yesterday were each fined NT$100,000 for failing to follow due procedures in removing a sports channel from their lineups, the National Communications Commission said.
Eleven Sports 1, the channel that broadcasts home baseball games for the Lamigo Monkeys and Uni-President Lions, on May 8 had informed Dafeng, New Kaohsiung and Taiwan Digital Broadband of Dada Broadband Group that it would suspend broadcasts to them on June 1 due to a dispute over content authorization fees, the commission said.
However, the three providers did not apply to the commission to change their lineups until May 31, it said.
In addition to having to secure approval for such a change, the cable providers are required to run on-screen news tickers for five consecutive days informing subscribers of the change, it added.
The three providers did not complete all the required procedures before Eleven Sports terminated the broadcasts on June 1, which meant that their subscribers in New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung were unable to watch programs on the channel, the commission said, adding that they have harmed consumer interests and contravened the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法).
The commission said that on June 5 it approved the providers’ request to change their channel lineups by replacing Eleven Sports with Sportcast Unlimited.
The providers agreed to either waive the cable service charge on June 1 or let their subscribers access the service for one more day after the service expires at the end of the month as compensation, the commission said.
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