If someone is asked if what is one of the things you cannot live without, television is among the most popular and expected answer. In today’s fast-paced, globalize, and technologically dependent period of living, people are no longer used to the traditional means of survival. As response to the emerging culture of convenience brought about by the mighty inventions and technology itself, it is apparent that people in general rely to the advantages that these things have to offer. In particular, the indispensable uses of television are extensive Television became a public good due to the fact that there was no charge for its usage (Noam, 1991). The television and its related industry as a medium for communication, learning, as well as entertainment is something which is not new. As a matter of fact, the application of the television and its related aspects is not just bounded on mere watching. Through this medium, aside from the countless of shows we have seen that informed, amused, educated, and entertained us, TV introduced us to the wider horizons and perspectives. In critical media studies, television has traditionally been conceived as carrying dominant ideologies in service of the status quo. But this conception, in both its crudest and most refined forms, has been strongly contested by the recent emphasis on textual fragmentation and audience reception (Kit-Wai Ma, 1999). The perfect combination of the spoken word and the visual presentation of stories, as opposed to listening to the radio and reading a book, have been most intriguing and alluring to the majority of viewers. The extension of color television and the further usage of ultra-high frequency program transmission and reception added to the stature of television as an inclusive medium. Furthermore, the introduction of the cable television and satellite broadcasting allows for transmission of shows that viewers from other parts of the globe can see in their television set at the comfort of their homes.
The television and related aspects paved way to different areas in which the target audience is not just limited to what is offered right in their tangential visions. The concept of pay television or pay-TV was introduced. Generally, pay-TV is the kind of television service that allows viewing with the intention of collecting a certain fee in order to avail several and specific TV services. Thus, this paper aims to present the overview of pay television or pay-TV industry.
The Pay Television or Pay-TV Industry
In the lexical definition, pay television or simply pay-TV refers to the subscription of television services with the presence of specified amount of fee – monthly or per program basis. Such commercial services are provided by both analogue and digital and satellite applications in which viewers will have only access if they had acquired or enrolled in the service. In relation to such umbrella service, the concept of pay-per-view (PPV) was made known.
Brief History and Development
As a result of the internationalization and opening of the free trading mechanism, Hong Kong rapidly achieve significant boundaries in several aspects of the society. From traditional to contemporary, manual to “push-the-button” processes, and long-standing to instant ways in the present day, the development in the country and in the modes of people’s lives has been gargantuan in nature and effects. Truly, the country’s technological status is at the dawn of the era. The presence of technology-driven systems like digital channels, multi-platform programming, new formats, niche channels, and SMS interactivity (Keane, 2005) are obvious manifestation that Hong Kong and its whole populace reached a jurisdiction in terms of 21st century governance.
In the mass media and broadcasting or telecommunication as a whole, there are various changes and innovations that took place and introduced. For instance, the worldwide television industry before is settling in a black and white and soundless reception, but with the introduction of advance equipments that paved way to the invention of the colored television, the worldwide viewers are now enjoying the fun and pleasure of “colored and sounded” viewing. But still, such example could be considered as ancient nowadays. The presence of “larger than life”, flat screen, or plasma TV screens and monitors offered to the sophisticated and better-off audiences is booming. Furthermore, the local television networks that are basically based in the slow-paced sound and light waves before are now modified into fast-paced and technologically-motivated systems and equipment the introduced the world into live coverage of happenings and current events the interest majority of the people. Among the most influential inventions that were introduced to the world are the satellite, cable and digital television. With these mechanisms, the changes in the conventional viewing experiences and habits of the common audience occurred and evolved into something interactive and inclusive. The audiences seek for further satisfaction and this made the television industry workforce to toil into something new that will still held the appetite of viewers into television watching. Then, the concept of pay television was introduced.
In Hong Kong, data from the country’s Annual Reports in the year 2003 show that there are five legitimate and domestic pay-TV programmes service licensees (see Table 1). As a result of the emerging market competition and diverse changes in the viewing habits of the targeted audience, a total of 130 pay-TV channels existed all over the country. In connection to the growing figure of services, the total number of subscribers reached a significant sum of over 860,000.
Table 1
Pay-TV Services in Hong Kong
Company
No. of Free Channels
No. of Pay Channels
Languages Used in Broadcast
Hong Kong Cable Television Ltd (CableTV) – controlled by Wharf Holdings
- over one hundred (100) channels
- English, Cantonese, Putonghua and other languages
PCCW-HKT Interactive Multimedia Services Ltd (NOW TV)
- sixteen free channels
- over eighty pay channels
- English language, Cantonese and Putonghua
Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd (HKBN- Digital TV)
-
- over thirty pay channels
- English and other languages
TVB Pay Vision Ltd (TVB Pay Vision)
- over thirty pay channels including eight (8) TVB channels and Celestial Movies – a movie channel which screen movies produced by Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. – the parent company of TVB
- English, Cantonese and other languages
i-Cable Communications Limited (branded as “CableTV”) – the only one traditional cable provider that operates in Hong Kong
-
- English and Chinese, other languages
In addition to the aforementioned information, a significant number of Hong Kong audiences watch subscription TV through satellite system like STAR TV and Asian Television Limited (ATV). The introduction of the cable and satellite television ignited the building of a new popular culture in television viewing. According to Kat-Wai Ma (1999), satellite television service was launched in 1991 by STAR. The Hong Kong-based station was acquired by Rupert Murdoch. STAR provides programmes for a pan-Asian audience and receives impressive ratings in countries like India, Taiwan, and China. STAR achieved quick penetration in Hong Kong in terms of the number of households installed for satellite reception, but actual audience share is below 5 per cent (as of 1994). The low viewership is largely due to the license restriction on STAR to air Cantonese programmes. Today, STAR programmes are now in English and Chinese (Mandarin).
On the other hand, the cable television was started by cable operator WHARF. It aims provide its multi-channel programmes to subscribers in October 1993. Besides movies and acquired programmes, WHARF promises to provide original programming to the domestic audience. News programmes are produced in-house, while many entertainment programmes are contracted out. In contrast to the situation during the 1980s, when the majority of television viewers watched TVB Jade’s prime-time programmes, Hong Kong viewers are now offered programmes from the more competitive ATV as well as various new television broadcasters, including satellite television STAR, cable television Wharf Cable, new regional television services, and the video-on-demand (VOD) operators (Ma, 1996). Since the early 1990s, the introduction of satellite and cable television has made the operations environment even more aggressive.
In a report published in Telecom Asia September of 2003, i-Cable Communications – one of Hong Kong’s pay TV operators reported a significant decrease of profit in the first-half operations. A total of more than seven percent (7%) to HKS.3 million or .2 million was lost. It is attributed to the stiff competition present in the whole operating industry.
In this competitive scene, the Hong Kong television industry has been forced to institutionalise its operation by controlling costs and expanding its distribution networks and regional services (Kit-Wai Ma, 1999). Competition may add to the pressure to innovate, but can also lead to more restrictive resources and creative controls.
The Hong Kong television viewers are basically utilizing the comfort of pay-TV programming (Groves, 1993). Meanwhile, the benefits being enjoyed by the subscribers bring about potential threats in the overall stature not only of the pay-TV industry but the media as whole.
Issues/Problems
The expectations of the general audiences towards television entertainment have evolved along with the broadening of viewing choices, changes in lifestyle, and reception of foreign forms of culture (Keane, 2005). Viewing television is by far the single most time-consuming home activity. It is also the dominant leisure activity of most individuals. Television has much impact on the lives of the viewers. At worst, viewers even imagine themselves as the characters of the show. With this fact, there are many issues and controversies that were brought up in connection to the pay-TV industry. The most popular is the issue of piracy and copyright. Others vary from the kinds of shows being offered, competitive pricing and strategies, behavioral or cultural effects to the viewers, and the likes.
The problem of piracy and copyright infringement is among the consequences and issues that the pay TV industry is now facing (Biggs, 2005). To quote Tanner (2004), “Pay-TV piracy is as old as pay-TV itself, particularly in Asia, where in many markets cable TV operations themselves were either unlicensed or downlinking satellite video channels illegally – practices that still go on today.” In 2003, pay-TV piracy in the Asia-Pacific region reached a “conservative estimate of 4 million” and 0 million – up 11% in October of 2004 (Tanner, 2004).
In an interview to Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) chief executive Simon Twiston David, he stated that Hong Kong’s increasing piracy problem have risked and damaged not only the domestic industry but the general reputation of the country in relation to intellectual property rights (Biggs, 2005). The CASBAA suggested the building up and improvement of copyright laws and enforcement within the territory in order to suppress the emerging ill effects of the said practice.
Furthermore, the kinds of show and the impact on the viewers has become an alarming issue. The proliferation of highly questionable, demoralizing, scandalous, and morally objected shows like pornography, violence, and taboo related shows touched the sensitivity of the conservative and value-oriented viewers. Thus, the television regulatory boards are created. Shows that are being aired on television are being regulated by such authorized boards that are working on prescribe and legally based legislations and policies. But sometimes these regulatory boards are not sufficient by themselves alone. That is why some shows have to have parental guidance that elicits the responsibility of the parent in the younger age range of viewers. With the many shows to choose from in networks, parents also have to be aware and be responsible of the shows that their children watch.
The competition faced by the pay-TV providers also affects the subscribers. This may lead to several changes in beliefs, opinions, and practices that will eventually result to consumerism or worst, rebellious principles and unjustifiable ideologies. The mere fact that television networks and stations in developing countries buy a lot of imported programs, for example, often has more to do with the fact that they are cheap, instances of cultural dumping, than that audiences are necessarily enthralled with them (Hannerz, 1992).
Advantages/Disadvantages
Television viewing can generally and potentially affect the lives of the viewers and shape their everyday experiences and outlooks in life. People use television to entertain themselves everyday. With the particular effective and proper usage of pay-TV, the advantages of pay-TV technology range from self-fulfillment to consumer satisfaction, accuracy to immediacy, selectiveness to privacy, and other comforts of the business. Through pay-TV, sports enthusiasts can watch the ongoing game of football or any other sports for that matter (Horrie, 2000). In the same manner and although television does have its strong points, it also has some setbacks. The first is the very high cost of pay-TV subscription. It is very costly indeed to subscribe in a particular pay television provider. The second is the uncertainty of a reliable pattern of consumer use of television receiving sets. Unlike radio, which requires only part of the listeners’ attention, television demands that viewers concentrate solely upon it; they must cease all other activities at the same time.
Practically, evidence suggests that viewers will scan pay television service policies. The varying changes in the lifestyle of the viewing public affect the decision-making and taking of the service provider. Undermining the growing competition as well as the rapid development of the telecommunication sector of the nation, the presentation of guides/announcements to programs are reasonably and carefully selected indicating that only those programs that appeal to them will be asked, leaving the others behind. This is generally true for high-end subscribers who prefer to watch international current news on politics, economy and business, sports and leisure, and even lifestyle.
Synthesis
The convenience of pay-TV industry not only in Hong Kong but to some parts of the world is measured in its applicability and audience satisfaction. Since it is a paid service, the consumer satisfaction in providing the best array of shows is a major consideration. Tangible application of the process is seen in the increasing amount of pay-TV subscribers. In the same manner, the issue on reliability with regards to different areas of programming is dealt in manner that only the service provider and the consumer feedback system can indicate. But with the personal motives and media gratification purposes of the individual viewer, the measurement of reliability is based on factual and comprehensive presentation of programmes. The responsiveness of pay-TV is immediate as manifested in the constant presentation of favored and requested as well as timely and exclusive shows made available within the subscriber’s reach. However, the issues on some shows’ copyright as well as nature (e.g. pornographic shows) are under probation and hot and contentious subject of scrutiny and debate. Nevertheless, the assurance of the pay-TV industry and its service providers in service of the consumer’s welfare and satisfaction is highly appreciated. But in the dawn of continuous struggle of dominance through competition, the pay-TV industry will still grow and take its potential to higher and wider bounds, breaking other barriers present in the eventual achievement of technological control. And lastly, the empathy among the viewer’s preferences and changing lifestyle will generally define the future of the said business.
All in all, the pay-TV industry in Hong Kong or even in the whole world per se is a thriving and influential determinant of the economic as well as social conditions of growth. If directed in the real purposes and responsibility of broadcast media in particular the TV as a medium, pay-TV will not just add to the comfort of contemporary living but will serve as a vital technology in achieving perennial and sustainable development.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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