Pay-TV piracy falls in Hong Kong

Hong Kong- The cost of pay-TV piracy in Hong Kong has decreased this year from 2006 by 15% to HK$213.72 million (US$27.4million), according to an annual Asia-Pacific pay-TV industry study conducted by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and Standard Chartered Bank.

Simon Twiston Davies, CEO for CASBAA said that "the fall in the 'lost revenue' number is attributed to the reduced cost of a pay-TV subscription in Hong Kong thanks to increased competition in the market".

The controlled and competitive environment in Hong Kong has made cable TV more affordable to the subscriber.

However, he pointed out that pirated cable connections remain the biggest problem accounting for 83% of total illegitimate connections, which is largely due to the cross border flow of illegal set top boxes from Mainland China.

Davies added that the Customs have to take a proactive position to address the problem.

Early this year, CASBAA has lobbied the government and successfully extended legal actions against a number of local bars for broadcasting unauthorised signals in public venues but the association wants more support for regulation from the government including taking a strong stance in enforcing the copyright and broadcasting ordinances.