Major system operators to broadcast in HD by June

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter





All of the nation’s major multiple system operators are expected to broadcast content in high definition (HD) by June, the National Communications Commission said on Wednesday.

The commission in November last year ruled that cable TV systems would be required to broadcast basic channels in HD by the end of this year.

Kbro Co, the nation’s largest multiple system operator, has pledged to have all of its cable TV systems broadcast in HD by March, while China Network Systems, Taiwan Broadband Communications and Taiwan Optical Platform Co have projected reaching that goal by June, the commission said.

Regarding smaller independent operators, the commission said that the goal was to have all operators broadcasting in HD by the end of the year.

“We will urge independent operators to follow suit through our administrative guidance, performance evaluations and license renewal reviews, as well as by disclosing information,” commission spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said.

These measures would also be adopted to urge channel operators to air their programs in HD, he said, adding that the digitization of cable TV systems involves cable and channel operators.

Some overseas TV channels have complained that the commission’s request would triple their transmission costs, as the signals must be transmitted to Taiwan via satellite, but other channels, like HBO, have expressed a willingness to comply with the government’s policy, Wong said.

Cable system operators and audiences should reap “digital dividends” following the comprehensive digitization of cable TV systems, he said.

Operators can use the extra bandwidth to offer value-added services, while viewers would get access to HD content, he added.

In related news, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) on Tuesday said that the commission has failed to intervene in a content authorization fee dispute that could cause Japanese TV channel Wakuwaku Japan and South Korea’s TVN to be removed from cable lineups.

Wong said that as the dispute involves business negotiations between the channels and cable TV systems, the commission would not intervene as long as system operators follow relevant regulations on changing their lineup and those changes are approved by local governments.