I-Cable To Terminate Pay-TV Service From June 1

The government on Tuesday approved i-Cable’s application to surrender its pay-TV service licence, with effect from June 1 this year.

In a statement, i-Cable Communications Limited said: “Hong Kong Cable Television Limited, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has submitted an application for the termination of its Domestic Pay Television Programme Service Licence to the government and has been granted approval today.”

The group said the decision to terminate its pay-TV service was made “in view of the rapidly changing media landscape in Hong Kong, and fierce competition among global pay-TV content providers and pay-TV operators”.

It said it will continue to provide its free television services along with other businesses, including broadband telecommunications, telephone, network construction and mobile services, and insists no one will lose their jobs.

Trading of the group’s stocks was suspended on Tuesday afternoon and will resume on Wednesday.

In a separate statement, Cable TV said it will start notifying its subscribers of details regarding service termination via different channels, including email, company website, and social media platforms.

It added that it will facilitate their return of TV set-top boxes and accessories.

In response, a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said Cable TV has been operating at a deficit in recent years under a difficult business environment, and the decision to surrender the licence is purely a commercial one.

Grace Leung, a lecturer at the Chinese University's School of Journalism and Communication, also noted that because the pay television market is declining, TV operators have no choice but to adopt a diverse business model.

"The convergence of the media has been taking place for nearly more than a decade. Many media organisations nowadays are not doing pure media services, so they have to diversify their business, otherwise it's difficult to survive by purely running a newspaper or a single type of media service," she told RTHK.

After the termination of i-Cable’s pay-TV service, Now TV will be the only operator providing the service in Hong Kong.

"They [Now TV] also have a free TV license and multi-media services. I think they are more comprehensive and more multi-dimensional," she said.

"Pay-TV can still have its edge. Through this, you can also provide more premium programming like sports news and the World Cup."

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