Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd., China Television Company, Ltd., Chinese Television System, Ltd. and Formosa Television Company, Ltd. applied to jointly purchase the rights to broadcast the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
Chinese Taipei
Case:
Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd., China Television Company, Ltd., Chinese Television System, Ltd. and Formosa Television Company, Ltd. applied to jointly purchase the rights to broadcast the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
KeyWords:
broadcasting right, cable channels
Reference:
Fair Trade Commission Decision of May 20, 2004 (the 654th Commissioners' Meeting); Letter Kung Yi Tzu No. 0930003863
Industry:
Television Broadcasting (8620)
Relevant Law:
Summary:
1. The four domestic broadcasting television business operators of Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. (hereinafter called "TTV"), China Television Company, Ltd. (hereinafter called "CTV"), Chinese Television System, Ltd. (hereinafter called "CTS)" and Formosa Television Company, Ltd. (hereinafter called "FTC") (hereinafter collectively called the "4 TV Stations") applied for approval of the Fair Trade Commission to jointly purchase the rights to broadcast the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and lease them to cable channels for broadcasting according to Article 14 Paragraph 1 Proviso Subparagraph 5 of the Fair Trade Law, "joint acts in regards to the importation of foreign goods for the purpose of strengthening trade."
2. Based on former cases relating to joint application for licensing bid of the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee, IOC, grants a single license for each licensing area. In other words, for each licensing area, there is only one licensee who may obtain the broadcasting rights. If media organizations separately bid for the rights, at the end only one media organization may obtain the broadcasting rights, and the relevant licensing fee must rise along with the bid. Besides the amount of the licensing fee, the IOC also considers the maximum possibility for audience in each area to watch the Games for free to popularize the dissemination of the Olympic Games. Thus, the number of free TV stations in each area is an important factor in the consideration of licensing. The fact that the domestic broadcasting TV stations jointly apply for the license to broadcast the Olympic Games will not only help share the costs but also avoid raising the licensing fee, and participation of the newly joined "FTC" further complies with the purpose of service popularization. The benefits of the 4 TV Stations' joint purchase of the broadcasting right shall be larger than those of individual purchase, which helps decrease costs and promote trading efficiency, and thus it basically complies with Article 14 Paragraph 1 Proviso Subparagraph 5 of the Fair Trade Law, and may be approved.
3. This time the 4 TV Stations will additionally lease the rights to cable channels for broadcasting. For the applicants' purpose, they wish to increase broadcasting channels and gain more advertising profits. With the increase in channels, the rights and interests of the audience who enjoy sports programs or those who enjoy other types of programs may both be covered. Therefore, such purpose is not to restraint competition, but to promote the overall interest of the audience. After considering the status the applicants contacting domestic cable TV sports channels, the 4 TV Stations finally chose ESPN as the partner to collaborate with because ESPN was more willing to accept the contract terms, where there is no deliberate intent to exclude other domestic cable TV sports channels, therefore it is not an inappropriate decision at all. Moreover, since the broadcast of the Olympic Games is a short-term event, the negative influence upon competition is also limited. Finally, since leasing rights to cable channels for broadcasting is a measure to improve the overall interest of the general audience, this part is approved as well.
4. Considering the following reasons: (1) the applicants are licensed to broadcast domestically from the IOC' s package licensing; (2) to maintain fair competition of advertisements during such period; (3) no mutual correlation between the broadcasting schedule of the channels belonged to the applicants and the concerted action of purchasing the right to decrease the costs; (4) to prevent the applicants from employing the approval of such concerted action to engage in other concerted actions; and (5) to facilitate effective supervision by the Fair Trade Commission, we hold that, in accordance with Article 15 of the Fair Trade Law, the time limit and undertakings shall be imposed as follows: (1) the advertising price shall not be improperly raised; (2) the applicants shall not jointly determine the schedule of each applicant' s programs; (3) the applicants shall not improperly exclude radio station businesses from participating in the broadcast of the Olympic Games; and (4) the applicants shall not employ the approval of such concerted action to engage in other concerted actions.
Summarized by Chen, Chun-Ting;
Supervised by Lu, Li-Na
Appendix:
Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. (TTV)' s Uniform Invoice Number: 20685000
China Television Company, Ltd. (CTV)' s Uniform Invoice Number: 18556774
Chinese Television System, Ltd. (CTS)' s Uniform Invoice Number: 20516997
Formosa Television Company, Ltd. (FTC)' s Uniform Invoice Number: 96975768
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