Gov’t to revisit free TV channels

The government will in future look at the local market environment for the territory’s television service and use public money when adjusting the number of existing free television channels, the so-called ‘basic television channels’, director of the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation Hoi Chi Leong said in a written reply to legislator Chan Meng Kam’s enquiry. In April last year, a company entity owned by the local government called Macau Basic Television Channels, Ltd. was set to lead the relay of free-to-air broadcasts to local households. This initiative was followed by the ongoing installation of transmission cables underground via the use of the city’s fixed-line telecommunication networks.