TV pay programmes are in a non-stop race between central and local cable and digital television broadcasting but leaving little choice for viewers. This was the conclusion of a conference convened by the Ministry of Culture and Information in late March 2006.
Overlapping and waste
There are currently 20 enterprises operating Television pay programmes in 25 cities and provinces with 460,700 customers. The number of customers has rapidly increased due to low charges: VND550,000 (US$35) for installation and several US dollars for monthly pay.
Mr Le Duc Hung, representative of Ho Chi Minh City’s cable TV (HTVC) said that in absence of overall expenses and seeing only immediate profit, investors have rushed to expand their businesses. Consequently, all 67 cities and provinces with their own television stations will develop cable television stations causing a huge waste. HTVC itself has to spend some VND20 billion a year to buy copyrights and produce local programmes. It is a high cost for only some hundred thousand subscribers.
TV programmes are mostly similar. For instance, Hanoi cable television and Vietnam Cable Television (VCTV) have 30 channels with three quarters overlapping (local and foreign programmes). The only difference is on some sport and recreation channels.
According to Mr Tran Dang Tuan, Deputy Director General, VTV, pay programmes are both inconsistent and overlapping. With the present charges, no television stations can make a profit. They all compete in buying copyright from foreign suppliers at a high cost, therefore, benefiting only foreign partners. Mr Tuan said that without a healthy competition and better organisation, the viewers will suffer from both financial and cultural interests. They will have certain programmes imposed and have to subscribe 4 or 5 stations to satisfy their demand.
Bigger companies will dominate
Mr Le Dinh Cuong, Director of Hanoi TV service company, used the term “big fish swallows small fish” to indicate the competition between budget-funded enterprises and self-financed ones such as Hanoi Cable TV (HCaTV) or Saigon Tourist cable TV (SCTV). In such a condition, major stations will use the State budget to develop modern systems and buy copyrights for attractive programmes with large profit for the stations and big losses for the State budget. It is “the competition between big and small fish, and the big fish is fed by an unlimited State budget”, concluded Mr Cuong.
For his part, Mr Tuan said : “A solution must be found to secure the everyone’s interests. VTV has long been waiting for a chance to hold discussions with other colleagues on pay programmes.” While cable televisions from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang urged for the establishment of an association of pay programmes to ensure equal rights of the service. The idea is supported by the Press Department of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
By February 2006, the total investment in cable television cost VND837,132 million. While the turnover is nearly VND420,000 million including installation and monthly fees.
Tung Lam
Vietnamese
