Hong Kong broadcaster ATV owes HK$8m in fees and penalties even after it stopped broadcasting
It is also unlikely the cash-strapped television station will renew its non-domestic licence when it expires on May 31, according to Communications Authority chief
Asia Television still owed the government more than HK$8 million in licence fees and penalties when it stopped free-to-air broadcasting early this month, the chairman of the Communications Authority said on Monday.
Ambrose Ho Pui-him added it was also unlikely the troubled station, which went off air on April 1, would renew its non-domestic television licence when it expires on May 31, as documents on the company’s share transfer had not yet been submitted in full.
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It was revealed that the station still owed HK$510,000 in penalties, of which HK$480,000 was already due. It also owed the authority another HK$7.7 million for licence fees.
“We might have to go to court to chase up the penalty,” Ho said, adding that the sum owed would become civil debt if ATV did not pay up.
The broadcaster has been penalised for not paying its employees, not renewing its licence on time and inaccurate news reports.
A false story was reported by ATV news on March 31 last year, stating the station’s shares would be sold to HKTV boss Ricky Wong Wai-kay.
Last year, the authority received 10,372 broadcast complaints against ATV. While 138 of the resulting 2,247 cases were substantiated, 125 were minor breaches such as inaccurate subtitles in news programmes. The remaining 13 cases were handled by the authority’s broadcast complaints committee.
