有線電視分組付費可能實施方式之研究

Abstract

台灣有線電視早期因業者惡性競爭，採大量增加頻道、降價促銷方式爭取訂戶，形成獨特的「大碗公」收視文化，民眾支付六百元月租費，即可收看約一百個基本頻道。有線電視頻道雖多，但消費者事實上無力收視，卻仍需為其付費，同時無法選擇符合個人需求的頻道內容。在「大碗公」收視文化下，消費者收視權益難以保障，頻譜無法有效利用則造成社會資源浪費。\n\n 近年來消費者意識抬頭，反應希望收看較少的頻道並支付較少費用；為回應消費者擇其所好之收視需求，政府方面提倡實施「分組付費制度」。分組付費制度可落實使用者付費觀念，有助於業者提高市場運作績效、杜絕私接戶，並可保護青少兒收視環境。\n\n 過去業者曾經實施分級付費，然而並不成功；其後，政府方面亦提出數種分組付費模式，但截至目前各界仍未達成共識。分組付費立意良善，未能推動實為可惜，因此研究者針對產、官、學進行深度訪談，探討分組付費過去失敗因素、目前面臨問題、各界對分組付費之態度，試圖匯整不同意見，探討分組付費未來可能實施之方式。\n\n 研究結果發現，現階段分組付費面臨諸多問題。「大碗公」收視文化使消費者欠缺「使用者付費」精神；加上消費者對於目前有線電視滿意度頗高，推動新制動力不足。此外數位機上盒裝機意願低，亦影響分組付費之推動。業者方面，分組付費將使系統業者收視費之收益降低、購片成本提高；頻道業者廣告收益大幅減少，宣傳行銷成本上升，因此業者反對實施。政府方面認為現階段推動分組付費確有一定困難，但為維護消費者收視權益，未來仍應繼續推動。學者專家則呈現市場開放與加強管制的兩極意見。\n\n 雖然分組付費議題目前仍然缺乏共識，但研究者由研究過程中釐清現階段分組付費面臨問題，可供未來研究者針對問題擬定解決方案。研究者亦發現，分組付費並非孤立之政策，其與產業結構、數位化…等議題息息相關，建議未來可由結構面進行探討，同時思考有線電視數位化、相關法規之研議修訂…等議題。此外，為促使有線電視費率合理化，建議相關單位積極輔導其他媒體平台，促成市場公平競爭機制，並擬定具體之數位化政策，提供有線電視業者誘因與獎勵，以較有彈性的角度來思考分組付費問題。

Because of the serious competition, during early developing time, Taiwan’s CATV system operators provided lots of channels and greatly lowered the CATV price to promote channel services. This promotion strategy has run for years and formed a very unique CATV environment in Taiwan. CATV consumers only have to pay NTD. 600 per month, then they can watch about 100 basic channels nowadays. Although CATV consumers can watch so many channels, they don’t really have so much time watching them all but still have to pay for them. Besides, the CATV bundling price doesn’t allow consumers to choose the channels they really need and want. On the social resource perspective, the CATV bundling pricing strategy keeps CATV channels from being used effectively and brings a waste.\n\n In recent years, consumers’ awareness of their rights is getting stronger. Consumers begin to find out the possibilities of paying fewer CATV price and watch fewer channels. In order to respond to the need of consumers, the government advocated CATV channel tiering policy. Channel tiering brings several advantages: consumers can be more active and own more choices; the CATV industry can work more effectively and system operators can prevent those who access CATV services illegally. Also, the advanced technology and hardware of channel tiering can prevent juveniles from watching inappropriate CATV programs.\n\n In the past, some CATV system operators tried to implement channel tiering, but it was not successful. The government also advocated several kinds of channel tiering models, but until now, there is still no consensus. CATV channel tiering is basically a good policy for consumers, and it’s a pity that this policy can’t be successfully execute. Therefore, by in-depth interview, the researcher of this study collects opinions from managers of CATV industry, government members and professors to discuss the failure reasons of channel tiering, the problems of execute channel tiering nowadays and different attitude toward this issue. Furthermore, the researcher tries to integrate different opinions to find out possible executive ways of channel tiering in the future.\n\n According to the research findings, CATV channel tiering faces many complicated problems now. First, because of the “bowling CATV culture”, Taiwan’s CATV consumers lack for the spirit of “user-payer” principle. Besides, they are pretty satisfied with the CATV services now and have no intention to push a new policy. Furthermore, consumers’ intentions to order digital CATV services and the distribution of DSTB are pretty low, and this situation barriers to the implementation of channel tiering, too. As to the CATV industry, the implementation will affect both CATV systems and channels, so the CATV industry objects to this policy. In order to preserve the rights of consumers, the government members hold that CATV channel tiering policy should execute in the future although it faces many difficulties now. They suggest the government should find an appropriate way and keep pushing this policy. The opinions from professors are very divergent. Some consider that the government should open the CATV market and give the industry more freedom, but some consider that the government should regulate more strictly.\n\n Although there is still no consensus on CATV channel tiering, the researcher has some findings during the research process. CATV channel tiering is a very complicated policy which relates to lots of other policies, laws and issues. Therefore, the researcher advices that the channel tiering issue should be considered together with other issues like digital policies, the problems of CATV industry structure and so on. Furthermore, in order to make the CATV service price more reasonable, the government should encourage more medium to provide services equivalent to CATV channel services, give consumers more choices, and build an equally competitive market. To summarize, the research advices that channel tiering issue is not a single policy and we should rethink it in a more flexible way.