The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said it intends to rule on ERA Communications’ purchase of Next TV before the end of the year.
Next Media’s debt-ridden network was sold to ERA in April.
By law, the transaction can only take effect after securing the commission’s approval.
The commission held a public hearing yesterday on the sale and said it was concerned that ERA chairman Lien Tai-sheng (練台生) owned or served as an agent for too many TV companies.
The commission asked Lien’s group to turn the promises it made at the hearing into written commitments before they would review the transaction again.
Local Chinese-language media reported that Fubon Financial Holding Co chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) had also tried to purchase Next TV.
Prior to his purchase of the cable TV systems previously owned by Kbro Co, Tsai promised to not establish any news, financial or shopping channels within three years after the 2010 acquisition was approved by the NCC. That statute of limitations expired last month.
NCC spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said the commission was reviewing Lien’s responses, adding that it hopes to rule on the case before the new year.
While acknowledging the expiration of the statute of limitations imposed on Tsai, Yu said that it did not mean Tsai could start buying or setting up television channels.
These actions would still need to be approved by the commission, he said.
“So far, we have not received any application,” Yu said.
“Next TV is owned by a foreign investor, and any transaction involving foreign investors must be reviewed by the commission as well as the Investment Commission,” said Chan Yi-lien (詹懿廉), a specialist at the NCC’s communication management department, adding that Next TV had denied that it would be resold to another buyer.
She said Lien had promised to recruit enough employees for Next TV and assured the commission that the news departments of Next TV and ERA TV would operate independently.
In other developments, Yu confirmed that Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile completed their payments of tender bonds for spectrum blocks reserved for the 4G telecommunication service and had submitted their business plans to the NCC for review.
Regarding the sale of 3G service operator Vibo Telecom to Taiwan Star Cellular Corp, which also won a spectrum block for 4G services, Yu said the commission has yet to receive the formal application for the deal.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
RSS