【明報專訊】What does one need after a hard day? Radio Rediffusion (麗的呼聲) launched its programmes in March 1949, and Hong Kong people have since been better entertained.
1. The first private broadcaster
In the late 1920s Hong Kong people enjoyed radio programmes broadcast by ''GOW'', a government- run channel that was the predecessor of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), which opened in 1948 and was then called Radio Hong Kong. It provided Hong Kong people with different kinds of information. Not until 1934 was there a Chinese channel and, until 1966, it operated only a few hours a day.
In 1949 Rediffusion Limited, a British broadcaster, set up the first private broadcaster in Hong Kong. It offered wired radio broadcasting services. According to an advertisement of the broadcaster, the cost of installation was $25 and the monthly subscription fee was $9, though each subscriber was lent a radio set for free. Programmes were available for more than fifteen hours a day, which were rather multi-faced, ranging from classical music, pop tunes, radio dramas to horseracing reports, news and infotainment.
2. From Radio to Television
Though the broadcaster provided a great variety of programmes and operated long hours, the subscription was costly to most citizens. In August 1959, Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK, 商業電台) opened. It broadcast wirelessly. There was such competition between the three radio stations that they released productions of high quality. To gain ground in the media industry, Rediffusion set up Rediffusion Television, a paid cable service provider, in May 1957. It charged a subscription fee of $25 a month. Once again it pioneered, this time in television broadcasting. It introduced the first Chinese channel in 1963. In November 1967, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) became the first-and-only free- to-air TV station in the territory. Radio Rediffusion terminated its radio services in 1973. Instead, Rediffusion Television Limited (RTV) started to share the pie of the free-to-air TV industry in the same year and stopped broadcasting through cable transmissions.
3. Broadcasting media in HK
In 1981 RTV sold a large part of its shares. The next year it was renamed Asia Television Limited (ATV). Hong Kong saw Cable TV, which provides paid service, launched in October 1993. Television has long been a major source of information. Programmes made in Hong Kong are well received not only here but also in other Chinese communities. Paid Internet and mobile TV services started to emerge in the 1990s, but they are not as accessible or influential as the two free-to-air TV stations.
In the Internet era, some broadcasters provide programme reviews or live shows on the Internet. They include CRHK's HK toolbar and TVB's myTV. There are also Internet-based broadcasters, such as D100 Radio, and Citizens' Radio (民間電台, right).
4. TV licence dispute
The SAR government started contemplating having more free-to-air TV stations in late 2009. The Broadcasting Authority (now the Communications Authority) received applications from aspiring operators. On 15 October 2013 the government announced that Fantastic TV under i-CABLE Communications and Hong Kong Television Entertainment under PCCW would be granted licences, while the application of HKTV, owned by Ricky Wong (王維基), was turned down. The government's decision raised an outcry, which did not subside until Ricky Wong announced his plan to start broadcasting in July 2014 through mobile transmission (above). It remains to be seen where Hong Kong's broadcasting media industry will head.
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