Court of Appeal quashes lower court’s ruling that HKTV’s licence application be reconsidered
Appeal judges reject lower court’s decision that Exco should reconsider application
Media tycoon Ricky Wong Wai-kay’s long-running battle to secure a share of the free-to-air television market suffered another setback yesterday as the Court of Appeal quashed a lower court’s decision to have his licence
application reconsidered.
The three-judge appellate court unanimously overturned a Court of First Instance ruling that the Executive Council had failed to follow the pro-competition 1998 reform – banning preset limits on the number of licensees – when it rejected the application by Wong’s Hong Kong Television Network.
HKTV said it was disappointed by the decision and was considering an appeal at the city’s top court.
In the latest ruling, chief High Court judge Mr Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung said the Broadcasting Ordinance “implicitly requires the Chief Executive in Council to take into account all relevant public interest considerations when exercising his discretion to grant or refuse an application for a domestic free-television licence”.
The judge said market sustainability was a highly relevant consideration.
