NHK panel proposes charging fees for viewing TV programs online

A committee of NHK came up with a proposal on Tuesday calling for charging fees on households without television sets for watching TV programs distributed through the Internet simultaneously. The committee also proposed that NHK not charge additional fees to households that have already signed viewing contracts with the public broadcaster when members of the households watch programs online. The broadcast law requires residents in Japan to conclude the contracts if they own TV program receivers. Currently, the law prohibits NHK from distributing TV programs at the same time through the Internet on a regular basis. If the law is amended to allow such simultaneous program distribution, fees should be imposed as soon as non-TV devices such as smartphones and personal computers become ready for receiving programs online upon downloading of apps, the committee said.