July 6, 2006
As the FIFA World Cup 2006 draws to a close, the unlicensed screening of the top-line matches in bars and clubs has been alarmingly widespread in Hong Kong.
According to the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), such blatant breaches of are a worrying issue and a significant hurdle for Hong Kong's efforts to position itself as a genuine "World City."
While the World Cup boosted Hong Kong bar revenues by up to 50%, independent estimates suggested that at least one-third of the cash was generated by screening pirated TV programming from markets such as the Philippines and South Africa.
"We are very concerned with the ongoing tolerance of widespread piracy in one of the world's most advanced economies - Hong Kong," CASBAA chairman Marcel Fenez. "Despite efforts by Hong Kong to champion its world class status, when it comes to the basics of sports and entertainment intellectual property rights protection, the SAR still lags behind other media hubs such as Singapore, Sydney, Seoul and Tokyo."