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WE REFER to Mr Daniel Ang's letter 'Why should cable TV users pay licence fee?' (ST, Feb 13). The TV licence fee is payable regardless of whether the viewer is receiving free-to-air TV programmes via the TV antenna or cable. The cable operator must carry the free-to-air local TV channels through its cable network without having to pay the free-to-air broadcaster. This was for the convenience of households so that they do not need different antenna systems for the two services.
Under the Broadcasting Act, a licence is required to own or operate any broadcasting apparatus capable of or designed for receiving broadcasting signals. This includes radio and TV sets, TV-enabled computers/screens as well as TV-enabled mobile phones. Only one TV licence is required per household.
The TV licence fees fund the production of some 3,000 hours of public service broadcast (PSB) programmes each year, providing audiences access to quality content in the four official languages. These include current affairs, information, arts and culture, local sports, local drama, children, and minority language programmes in Malay and Tamil. Such programmes foster social cohesion and national identity, and promote racial harmony. These programmes are supported by public funding through TV licence fees. Besides the greater variety of programmes, local audiences enjoy longer transmission hours, from an estimated 16,000 hours in 1997 to over 46,000 hours in 2006. The number of free-to-air channels has also increased from 16 radio and four TV channels in 1994, to 18 radio and six TV channels currently.
We thank Mr Ang for his feedback and invite him to visit www.mda.gov.sg if he wishes to know more about PSB programmes.
Regina Chang (Ms)
Manager, Customer & Licensing Services
Media Development Authority
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