Oscars finale in balance in HK
2006-02-07 13:13
Hong Kong - And the winner is - we're not telling.
Hong Kong TV channel TVB says it will not be able to broadcast the final gripping moments of this year's Oscars ceremony because red tape forces it every year to switch programming moments before the finale.
The 16-hour time difference between Hollywood and this southern Chinese city ensures the live Oscars ceremony is broadcast early in the morning local time - clashing with a government-set time slot for educational shows.
Each year the company receives a barrage of complaints from angry viewers after abruptly switching from the glittering Hollywood spectacle to dry teaching programmes moments before the winner of the best film category is announced.
TVB is anxious this year's show be broadcast uninterrupted as the odds are high that the top gong will go for the first time to an ethnic Chinese director, Taiwan-born Ang Lee for his gay cowboy film Brokeback Mountain.
It has appealed to the TV licencing authority Tela to lift the obligation just for the Oscars, which will be broadcast locally on Monday March 6.
"Every year we ask if the obligation can be relaxed just for the Oscars and every year the government says no - because it wouldn't be in the public interest," a TVB spokesperson said.
Tela has yet to announce a decision, the spokesperson added.
"We hope they will do it this year. A lot of people are expecting Ang Lee to win," she said.