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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Cable firms face fines for dropping sports channel
A television in Taipei displays a baseball game broadcast by Eleven Sports in an undated photograph. Photo: CNA
MORE IN STORE: The NCC said that if no corrections are made by a deadline, the fines might be imposed consecutively or operating permits might be revoked
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Three cable broadcasting operators could be fined this week for failing to follow procedure when they halted broadcasts of the Eleven Sports channel.
Dafeng Cable Co, Taiwan Digital Broadband and New Kaohsiung Cable TV Co stopped broadcasting Eleven Sports from June 1 after the channel and three cable operators failed to settle a dispute over the content authorization fees, despite three rounds of negotiations arbitrated by the National Communications Commission （NCC）.
Because the cable operators refused to pay the fees it owed Eleven Sports, the channel stopped transmissions to them.
The cable operators did not file for changes to their lineups until May 30, two days before they stopped airing Eleven Sports, leaving little time to review the applications, the commission said.
According to its regulations, they were supposed to notify subscribers about the change by running a news ticker for at least five days in a row before removing the channel, which they did not do so, the commission said.
Management personnel from the three cable operators on Wednesday last week answered questions from NCC commissioners, who asked them to provide additional information, it said.
The commissioners said that they approved proposed changes to channel lineups and asked the cable firms to compensate subscribers by deducting one day’s charge from monthly fees or extending the payment period by one day.
The three operators have about 236,000 subscribers combined, the commission said, adding that Sportscast Unlimited is available in the absence of Eleven Sports.
The commission is to continue deliberations on the case this week.
The three cable operators could face fines of NT$60,000 to NT$3 million （US$1,910 to US$95,481） each if it is determined that their actions were inappropriate, and impaired the rights and interests of subscribers, the commission said, adding that they should make amends.
If no corrections are made by a deadline, the fines might be imposed consecutively or operating permits and licenses might be revoked, it said.
This is not the first time that a cable operator has taken a channel off the air because of an unsettled dispute over content authorization fees.
Last year, five cable firms under multiple system operator Taiwan Broadband Communications suspended broadcast of Formosa TV for 11 days because Taiwan Broadband Communications did not agree to the terms of the authorization charge set by the channel.
The NCC fined Taiwan Broadband Communications and Formosa TV over the incident.
As each case is different, punishments would be handed down based on which party an incident is attributable to, the commission said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
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