In the 10 years since its inception in Vietnam, the pay TV industry hasenjoyed spectacular growth, driven largely by the country's impressiveeconomic expansion. The Ministry of Information and Communicationsestimates that out of the 22 million TV subscribers at the end of 2012,about million subscribed to pay TV.
However, todevelop a growth-oriented pay TV market, there must be clearerlegislation, transparent enforcement mechanisms and further educationfor Government, industry and consumers. In addition, pay channelproviders must provide good service and reliable content.
Viet Nam News examines the issue.
* Nguyen Ha Yen, Deputy Director-General of the Department ofBroadcasting and Electronic Information Management, Ministry ofInformation and Communications:
The developmentof the pay TV industry has obviously given people more choices forentertainment and information, meeting growing demand. The market hasseen the appearance of four types of pay television: subscription-basedtelevision services provided by analog and digital cable, satellite,digital terrestrial and internet television.
However, the industry's development has been largely fragmented andunsustainable. Previously, the pay TV industry was regulated in asimilar fashion as the general media, which means that only content andinformation were regulated. There were no regulations concerning marketdevelopment, infrastructure, technology or services.
* Nguyen Chi Hien, university lecturer, Cau Giay district, Hanoi:
Several years ago, I could watch all matches of the Premier Leagueeasily since it was available on VTV channels. Now, it's impossiblesince I have to sign up for K+, which costs about another 500,000 VND(24 USD) a month in addition to the cost of equipment. In addition, thesignal sometimes goes out for no reason. I've also asked my familymembers not to buy anything from advertisements on pay TV channels sinceI've heard they don't sell reliable products.
This calls for a new mechanism. In 2011, the Prime Minister approved adecision that would enhance regulation on the reliability ofinformation, service quality, and rights and responsibilities ofproviders.
In August, the Government approved a planto develop local radio and television services by 2020, which forecaststhat 60-70 percent of households nationwide will use pay televisionservices by that time.
As we're planning for acomplete digital switch by 2020, spurring the development of paytelevision is important. We are working on better regulating the paytelevision industry in many areas, such as ensuring that informationprovided by pay TV channels is reliable, balancing foreign-funded anddomestic channels and tightening licensing procedures for providers. Weestimate that by the end of this year, the pay TV market will have about20 service providers.
* Tran Phuong Lan, head ofthe Competition Supervision and Management Committee, under the Ministryof Industry and Trade's Competition Management Department:
A handful of local businesses like Saigontourist Cable Television(SCTV) and Vietnam Cable Television (VCTV) dominate the market. In 2012,SCTV had 40 percent of the market share, while VCTV controlled 30percent. Most of the market share is concentrated in State-ownedbusinesses that belong to major TV stations.
Thedepartment has noted that soaring copyright fees have pushed cablesubscription fees considerably higher, especially the rights tobroadcast major international football competitions.
Unhealthy competition has also marred the local market as someproviders use their channels to criticise rivals or conspire with ownersof residential zones or houses to obtain the exclusive rights to supplycable television services in those areas, creating unfavorableconditions for customers.
Often customers reallyhave no choice, as some enterprises take advantage of their regionalmonopoly to force their partners to sign sole contracts with them.
Those activities are not regulated in the Law on Competition so thereis no way to legally prevent them. The committee has made a reportassessing competition in various sectors, including the pay TV industry.The Competition Management Department will propose that the Law onCompetition be revised to stop pay TV service providers from payingresidential area investors for the right to offer exclusive services.
The Vietnam Pay TV Association's role should beenhanced so it can act as a bridge between enterprises in the sector.State management agencies should tighten inspections of pay TVenterprises' services and quality.
* Vuong Ngoc Tuan, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Standard and Consumer Association (VINASTAS):
There's no doubt that competition among pay TV providers hasincreased. As to whether these instances of competition are healthy, wemust let industry insiders or administrators make that judgment.However, we notice that the rights of consumers have been neglected inseveral cases, especially when it comes to dealing with advertisements.
Companies pay for ads and pay-TV providers do notverify the information before broadcasting it. moreover, they are oftenuncooperative when consumers file complaints.
Acrossthe country, the association's branch offices have received manycomplaints by consumers who did not receive as many HD channels asagreed and saw channels cut off without explanation. Many companies alsoacted unscrupulously by marketing products without origin, not allowingconsumers to see products before receiving them and changing theaddress of the vendors on their website so consumers would not be ableto contact them.
After receiving these complaints,we want to get the businesses to support consumers. In many cases, thesecompanies try hiding their corrupted business practices. That means weneed cooperation from pay-TV providers, but they have not generally beencooperative.
As the number of pay TV providersconstantly increases and advertising channels that exclusively aim tosell products multiply, government authorities and relevant agenciesmust increase inspection on their operations and commercial activitiesto protect consumers. Consumers can't be left out in this industry.-VNA
However, todevelop a growth-oriented pay TV market, there must be clearerlegislation, transparent enforcement mechanisms and further educationfor Government, industry and consumers. In addition, pay channelproviders must provide good service and reliable content.
Viet Nam News examines the issue.
* Nguyen Ha Yen, Deputy Director-General of the Department ofBroadcasting and Electronic Information Management, Ministry ofInformation and Communications:
The developmentof the pay TV industry has obviously given people more choices forentertainment and information, meeting growing demand. The market hasseen the appearance of four types of pay television: subscription-basedtelevision services provided by analog and digital cable, satellite,digital terrestrial and internet television.
However, the industry's development has been largely fragmented andunsustainable. Previously, the pay TV industry was regulated in asimilar fashion as the general media, which means that only content andinformation were regulated. There were no regulations concerning marketdevelopment, infrastructure, technology or services.
* Nguyen Chi Hien, university lecturer, Cau Giay district, Hanoi:
Several years ago, I could watch all matches of the Premier Leagueeasily since it was available on VTV channels. Now, it's impossiblesince I have to sign up for K+, which costs about another 500,000 VND(24 USD) a month in addition to the cost of equipment. In addition, thesignal sometimes goes out for no reason. I've also asked my familymembers not to buy anything from advertisements on pay TV channels sinceI've heard they don't sell reliable products.
This calls for a new mechanism. In 2011, the Prime Minister approved adecision that would enhance regulation on the reliability ofinformation, service quality, and rights and responsibilities ofproviders.
In August, the Government approved a planto develop local radio and television services by 2020, which forecaststhat 60-70 percent of households nationwide will use pay televisionservices by that time.
As we're planning for acomplete digital switch by 2020, spurring the development of paytelevision is important. We are working on better regulating the paytelevision industry in many areas, such as ensuring that informationprovided by pay TV channels is reliable, balancing foreign-funded anddomestic channels and tightening licensing procedures for providers. Weestimate that by the end of this year, the pay TV market will have about20 service providers.
* Tran Phuong Lan, head ofthe Competition Supervision and Management Committee, under the Ministryof Industry and Trade's Competition Management Department:
A handful of local businesses like Saigontourist Cable Television(SCTV) and Vietnam Cable Television (VCTV) dominate the market. In 2012,SCTV had 40 percent of the market share, while VCTV controlled 30percent. Most of the market share is concentrated in State-ownedbusinesses that belong to major TV stations.
Thedepartment has noted that soaring copyright fees have pushed cablesubscription fees considerably higher, especially the rights tobroadcast major international football competitions.
Unhealthy competition has also marred the local market as someproviders use their channels to criticise rivals or conspire with ownersof residential zones or houses to obtain the exclusive rights to supplycable television services in those areas, creating unfavorableconditions for customers.
Often customers reallyhave no choice, as some enterprises take advantage of their regionalmonopoly to force their partners to sign sole contracts with them.
Those activities are not regulated in the Law on Competition so thereis no way to legally prevent them. The committee has made a reportassessing competition in various sectors, including the pay TV industry.The Competition Management Department will propose that the Law onCompetition be revised to stop pay TV service providers from payingresidential area investors for the right to offer exclusive services.
The Vietnam Pay TV Association's role should beenhanced so it can act as a bridge between enterprises in the sector.State management agencies should tighten inspections of pay TVenterprises' services and quality.
* Vuong Ngoc Tuan, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Standard and Consumer Association (VINASTAS):
There's no doubt that competition among pay TV providers hasincreased. As to whether these instances of competition are healthy, wemust let industry insiders or administrators make that judgment.However, we notice that the rights of consumers have been neglected inseveral cases, especially when it comes to dealing with advertisements.
Companies pay for ads and pay-TV providers do notverify the information before broadcasting it. moreover, they are oftenuncooperative when consumers file complaints.
Acrossthe country, the association's branch offices have received manycomplaints by consumers who did not receive as many HD channels asagreed and saw channels cut off without explanation. Many companies alsoacted unscrupulously by marketing products without origin, not allowingconsumers to see products before receiving them and changing theaddress of the vendors on their website so consumers would not be ableto contact them.
After receiving these complaints,we want to get the businesses to support consumers. In many cases, thesecompanies try hiding their corrupted business practices. That means weneed cooperation from pay-TV providers, but they have not generally beencooperative.
As the number of pay TV providersconstantly increases and advertising channels that exclusively aim tosell products multiply, government authorities and relevant agenciesmust increase inspection on their operations and commercial activitiesto protect consumers. Consumers can't be left out in this industry.-VNA
