Commercial Radio fined HK$120,000 over failure to broadcast hourly news, weather reports

A Hong Kong radio station has been fined HK$120,000 for failing to broadcast certain hourly news and weather reports since 2022, the city’s broadcasting watchdog has said. Office of the Communications Authority. Photo: OFCA. Commercial Radio Hong Kong’s (CRHK) English radio channel, AM864, failed to broadcast the reports between May 1, 2022, and April 2, 2026, due to “human error and administrative inadvertence,” according to a Monday statement issued by the Communications Authority (CA). Under the broadcaster’s agreement with the authorities, AM864 is required to broadcast hourly news reports between 7am and 11pm daily, with no further changes allowed without the watchdog’s prior approval, the statement said. The station was also supposed to broadcast weather reports at 7am and from 6pm to 11pm. According to Hong Kong law, the authority can issue monetary fines when a station or broadcaster breaks certain rules. ‘Hardly acceptable’ Despite the broadcaster’s assessment that the impact on listeners was likely minimal, given the channel’s relatively small audience base, its non-compliance “over a prolonged four-year period was hardly acceptable,” the statement read. The statement said that the broadcaster submitted inaccurate records to the watchdog. The authority also said that CRHK has rectified its errors by resuming all required hourly news and weather reports since April 3 this year. Apart from the financial penalty, CRHK should “enhance internal monitoring to prevent recurrence of incidents of a similar nature,” the watchdog added. The broadcaster will also be required to submit plans for “enhanced procedures” to the watchdog within one month, to strengthen internal operations and establish a monitoring system to ensure compliance. “The CA stresses that licensed broadcasters bear the responsibility of ensuring continued compliance with all regulatory requirements,” the statement read. Safeguard press freedom; keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps Make a one-off donation. James Lee is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he witnessed the institution’s transformation over the course of the 2019 extradition bill protests and after the passing of the Beijing-imposed security law. Since joining HKFP in 2023, he has covered local politics, the city’s housing crisis, as well as landmark court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial. He was previously a reporter at The Standard where he interviewed pro-establishment heavyweights and extensively covered the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s political overhauls under the national security law. More by James Lee