The Chief Executive in Council granted approval for TVB non-executive director Anthony Lee to exercise control of the company from today as a "disqualified person" under the Broadcasting Ordinance.
But the CE in Council refused to grant retrospective approval for Chien Lee, Christina Lee and Anthony Lee to exercise control of TVB as disqualified persons for certain periods before today.
Under the Broadcasting Ordinance, no disqualified person shall exercise control of a domestic free TV licensee unless approved by the CE in Council.
Chien Lee has been an independent non-executive director of Swire Pacific, which owns Swire Properties Hotel Management (SPHM), another television licensee.
Chien Lee, as a director of an associated corporation of SPHM, and his two relatives, Christina Lee and Anthony Lee, have become disqualified persons in relation to TVB.
The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau said Anthony Lee's positive contribution to TVB’s development should benefit the broadcasting sector as a whole. This constitutes public interest gain justifying the approval.
It added that TVB and SPHM are operating in two distinct broadcasting markets. The approval is unlikely to have any negative impact on the competition landscape in the TV markets, nor result in increased editorial uniformity or media concentration.
