80,000 Hong Kong homes without digital TV set could miss out on RTHK shows when it takes over ATV channels
Residents of a number of areas will not be able to receive analogue signals until transmission facilities are ready
Up to 80,000 households, or 20 per cent of the 400,000 homes without a digital television set, may miss out on RTHK programmes when the public broadcaster takes over channels vacated by Asia Television next month.
RTHK yesterday promised viewers more programme choice on ATV’s analogue channels, but cautioned fresh content would have to be added gradually due to limited funding and manpower.
English services will be few and far between, and not on the scale ATV operated its dedicated English channel.
Residents of a number of areas, including southeast Hong Kong Island, Cha Kwo Ling in east Kowloon, and Tai Wai and Clear Water Bay in the New Territories, will not be able to receive its analogue signals as some newly-installed transmission facilities will not be ready for the first stage of broadcasting.
But the public broadcaster said its analogue television coverage could be increased from the current 80 per cent to 99 per cent in three months.
It played down the possibility of any transmission failure, adding that technical modifications could be completed shortly after taking over ATV’s analogue channels.
“Signal blackouts, or snowy screens, if they do occur, will be short-lived,” said Leung Chi-wah, RTHK’s engineering head.
From April 2 onwards, after ATV’s free-to-air licence expires, RTHK will take over the station’s vacant Cantonese and English-language channels. It will use the channels to air programmes currently being broadcast on digital terrestrial television channels RTHK TV31 and RTHK TV33.
The new analogue channels will be renamed RTHK TV31A and RTHK TV33A, with the “A” standing for analogue.
But viewers sticking with their old analogue television sets will have to resign themselves to a lower quality broadcast owing to technical restrictions.
Programmes appearing on RTHK’s digital channels in a 16:9 screen ratio will be compressed into a 4:3 format for analogue channels, resulting in a black-framed picture, Leung said.
RTHK began transmitting programmes on its digital channels in January 2014, and over the past year it has been beefing up production in response to its new duties.
Starting on April 2, the public broadcaster will extend its transmission hours on both its digital and analogue Cantonese channels, keeping them running from 6.30am until 1.30am the next day.
The programmes will include five hours of first-run content every day, including newscasts – but without news anchors.
“We can only produce content based on existing resources,” said Kirindi Chan Man-kuen, assistant director of broadcasting at RTHK.
She added that RTHK would fight for more resources to further develop its news programming.
Liane Cheng Wai-fong, controller for television programmes at RTHK, said while new dramas would be produced, the broadcaster would have to look for external artistes who had not signed up with other stations to help the broadcaster develop such programmes.
