【明報專訊】ASIA TELEVISION LIMITED (ATV), whose free-to-air TV licence the government has decided not to renew, is to cease operation late next March. Owing to such developments, Hong Kong's free-to-air TV industry is now presented with two opportunities. First, a niche in the market has been opened up, which has been spotted by some businessmen. A consortium has applied to the government for a licence with a view to getting a share of the television industry pie. Furthermore, for a long time TVB has been dominating the industry because of ATV's weakness. As real competition is lacking, TV programme quality has kept deteriorating. Now citizens are generally hoping that newcomers will compete with other broadcasters, encourage innovation and help bring about progress in the industry. What interests us is whether the government's decision will give the TV industry a new aspect.