The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), today took new steps to stamp out pay-TV piracy in Hong Kong, issuing “cease and desist letters” to a number of bars and clubs in Hong Kong screening pay-TV services without legal pay-TV subscriptions.
Following a High Court ruling and support from the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) this new action aims to combat Pay-TV signal piracy across the SAR. If these venues fail to immediately discontinue screening pay-TV programming without obtaining legitimate subscriptions to licensed pay-TV services they are liable to further legal proceedings in the High Court of Hong Kong.
The cease and desist letters were issued in parallel with the launch of a “pay-TV piracy awareness” campaign, under which CASBAA will issue letters to 300 bars and clubs in Hong Kong putting them on notice of what constitutes the legal and illegal screening of pay-TV services.
Under Hong Kong law bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels, such as ESPN or STAR Sports, under an appropriate subscription from a Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operator such as Hong Kong Cable Television Limited (i-Cable). Other pay-TV operators such as UBC of Thailand, Multichoice of South Africa and Dream of the Philippines are not authorised to offer subscriptions in Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, besides Hong Kong Cable Television (i-Cable), the licensed pay TV operators are PCCW (NOW), Yes TV and Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting (ExTV), all of whom are members of CASBAA.
Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA, said the pay-TV piracy awareness letters and cease and desist letters to the bars and clubs are part of a wider campaign to raise awareness of pay-TV piracy in Hong Kong and across the region. “Pay-TV signal piracy is a major issue for the broadcasting industry in Hong Kong. In October 2003, it was estimated that the gross cost associated with pay-TV signal piracy in Hong Kong amounted to approximately US$27 million (HK$210 million) over a 12-month period. We are all committed to improving this dire situation so the public is ultimately served with a wider choice and better programming. If these vast sums are stolen from the value chain, investment will fall and programming standards will decline.”