Hong Kong broadcaster ATV has announced that its news broadcasts have been “suspended” two months earlier than planned, following a mass exodus of the media division’s staff over a dispute regarding unpaid wages.
The broadcaster violated the terms of its license on Saturday night after it failed to air its two newscasts of at least 15 minutes in Chinese and English due to a lack of staff working.
“Because of manpower and other conditions, we had no choice but to suspend our newscasts. We may have to wait until after the Lunar New Year […] to see if the newscasts will be resumed,” ATV’s senior public relations manager told SCMP.
The failure has resulted in a suspension of its news broadcasts, possibly on a permanent basis, as last year Hong Kong authorities announced that they would not be renewing ATV’s broadcasting license in April 2016.
Also on Saturday some 80 staff at ATV attended a briefing organized by the Labor Department in Hong Kong to review their rights as employees.
The incident is only the latest for Hong Kong’s struggling broadcaster, the oldest in the territory and the first Chinese-language television broadcaster in the world.
ATV has previously been plagued with failing ratings, endemic financial problems, and has been penalized for false reporting. Further, it has been fined at least 16 times over delays to the paying of staff wages and licensing violations.
Hong Kong television channels are widely viewed in Macau. They had been accessed through unlicensed public antenna companies until recently when an agreement was signed to have a publicly owned company to ensure the transmission of a 49 basic TV channel package.
ATV is among the channels that comprise the basic TV channel package. Staff reporter
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