跨國衛星電視拓展戰略與政府監管之研究──以東亞和東南亞地區為案例

A study of the Development of Satellite Broadcasting and Government Control: The Case of East and Southeast Asia

衛星電視無遠弗界，威力強大，它的問世對現存的以國家疆域為主體的媒介管制體系帶來了新的挑戰。不少學者據此認為，衛星電視將進一步開放資訊的流通，削弱當地政府監管新聞的能力，從而帶動民主化的發展(Sussman, 1991; Ayish & Qassim, 1995)。本文通過對東亞和東南亞地區跨國衛星電視發展變化的系統考察和分析，對上述流行觀點提出挑戰。本文認為，由於跨國衛星電視本身的特點，加之國際大財團追逐利潤的競爭策略，使該地區政府有可能通過一系列手段對其進行監管和控制。其特點是：以政治上的妥協換取瓜分市場的利益（對跨國衛星電視經營者而言）。在某些國家，衛星電視經營者須減少甚至取消新聞時事節目才得以打入市場；對另一些國家，衛星電視經營者同當地官商〝合作〞，進而實行市場寡頭均占。對政府而言，通過開放無損其統治的文化娛樂節目，正將衛星電視納入其國家整個市場開放的計劃中，並以此在市場上取得利潤。我們的研究表明：至少就東亞與東南亞地區情形而言，跨國衛星電視經營者，當地政府和工商界在各自利益的基礎上，互相利用，互相妥協，他們在追逐政治與商業利益的驅動下，正在形成一種戰略性的同盟合作關係。

It has been argued that transnational satellite television will have a democratizing effect on the media and on whole societies. This paper critiques that view, using systematic data collection to show that, while there has been a huge broadening of programming that was initially a threat to authority, governments of East and Southeast Asia quickly found ways to assert control over content. They were able to do this because they could deliver paying audiences when broadcasters were hampered by competition, technical constraints on direct-to-home broadcasting and problems in harvesting revenue. The result is a government-business-broadcaster alliance that will ensure that the medium's development remains in the interests of this group.