The problems at ATV resemble a bad soap opera that is getting worse, dragging the company's revenues down with it, according to an advertising expert. Media Partners executive director Vivek Couto yesterday described as a "black comedy" the recent changes in management at the television station, following on the heels of fresh news regarding an allegedly rigged beauty pageant. Couto said ATV's handling of the various issues was unprofessional, and predicted a further decline in ad revenue for the beleaguered station. "In the recent bad times when [revenues] globally are declining, ATV's will fall even more," Couto said. Meanwhile, legal experts say the alleged rigging of the 2008 Miss Asia pageant could take on a legal context encompassing deception, fraud or conspiracy to defraud. ATV said yesterday this year's announced winners were not the same as those chosen through the internet and by SMS voters, fueling speculation of insider rigging. "Depending on the evidence gathered, one charge can be considered - deception," said barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung. "Did somebody have the intention to deceive? On the surface, that seems to be the case, but it's still too early to tell. No one can be [prosecuted] yet." Luk added that fraud or conspiracy to defraud were also possible charges, depending on how the situation had actually played out. Polytechnic University associate professor in competition law Mark Williams said there were several factors that had to be considered in order to determine whether the incident could take on a legal context. "For instance, you might look at things from a regulatory angle, such as whether any code of practice was breached with regulatory bodies such as the Broadcasting Authority," Williams said. "Also, we need to see if bribery was involved, or whether there has been a breach of contract between the contestants of the pageant and the station." If contracts exist, one needs to know whether there were explicit rules that governed how winners were determined, Williams said. In a controversial development related to the pageant, ATV's chief executive Ricky Wong Wai-kay was heard asking a candidate auditioning for the pageant whether her breasts were real. Murmurs of sexual harassment and unfair treatment broke through soon after. "We should not focus on this incident - we should get to the bottom of the rigged results scandal instead," Luk said. Source: The Standard
