MUMBAI: The tough competition prevailing in the pay-television market has forced the Hong Kong based pay-TV operator Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting to bring down its service charge by 23.8 per cent.

"The company has cut the monthly charge for its three-month-old exTV service from $168 to $128. Customers would need to sign up for 12 months to take advantage of the lower price," GSB's pay TV channel exTV chief operating officer Jackey Chan Sek-nin is quoted in media reports as saying.

Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting Limited (GSB) is a joint venture of Intelsat, a leading global communications provider, and Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), Hong Kong's prominent premium content provider and broadcaster.

The company has been providing uplink / downlink and broadcasting services for channel providers and telecommunication companies in the Asia Pacific region since 2000.

Not so long ago, rival broadcaster Yes TV had announced its plans to surrender the channel's pay-television licence to the broadcasting authority. Taiwan's leading broadcaster TV plus had wound up its pay-channel business last month.