According to documents obtained by Media, PCCW —in a letter to CSL's media agency OMD — attributed the ad blocking to 1010's mobile TV service, which offers content from rival pay-TV operator iCable. At press time, PCCW also announced the launch of its mobile TV offer for 3G subscribers, featuring content from Now TV.
Mabel Leung, chairman of the HK 4As media and research committee said the matter would be looked into.
"We will fully investigate (the issue) with PCCW, because there should be clear indications at the time of booking whether they will accept the advertising or not," said Leung.
OMD Hong Kong MD Jackson Kwok described the move as unreasonable and unprofessional. "Everyone knows 1010 is a 3G brand, it's not a car company and it's not a retailer," he said. "We would have excluded Now TV from the media plan if we knew there would be problems." PCCW said its decision "was an internal business matter and no further comment will be made at this point." See p 3
