Hong Kong television: September 2008

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Television in Hong Kong

Television in Hong Kong has both free over the air channels and several subscription cable networks.

Broadcast channels

There are two free-to-air television services in Hong Kong:

*Asia Television Limited : operates one English-language and one Chinese-language channel.
*Television Broadcasts Limited : operates one English-language and one Chinese-language channel.

Defunct free-to-air television services in Hong Kong

* Commercial Television , from 1975 to 1978.
* Rediffusion Television , from 1973 to 1982, at which point it became Asia Television Limited .

Subscription cable networks

Four cable television networks:
*''Hong Kong Cable Television Ltd '': controlled by Wharf Holdings, operates over one hundred channels with programmes broadcast in , , and other languages.
*''PCCW-HKT Interactive Multimedia Services Ltd '': provides sixteen free channels and over eighty pay channels with programmes broadcast in English language, and .
*''Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd '': provides over seventy pay channels.
*''TVB Pay Vision Ltd '': provides over thirty pay channels, included 8 TVB channels, and Celestial Movies, a movie channel which screen movies produced by Shaw Brothers Ltd., the parent company of TVB.

Television Broadcasts Limited

Television Broadcasts Limited , commonly known as TVB, was the first over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on November 19, 1967.. With a staff of about 4,500, it is one of two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival, .

TVB is the first free-to-air television broadcaster in Hong Kong. When TVB first began broadcasting, to distinguish it from the only cable television broadcaster, Rediffusion Television, it was commonly known as "Wireless Television" in Chinese. Although there is more than one wireless television station now. The company's current chairman is Sir Run Run Shaw. Besides, TVB is providing twelve pay-tv channels for its associated company, TVB Pay Vision Limited.

TVB reaches out to the overseas Chinese communities. Its productions are available in Mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, among others, on channels such as TVB's own TVBS-Europe subscription satellite service. In Taiwan, TVB operates through its TVBS subsidiary.

Its dramas are internationally acclaimed, and many of Hong Kong's top film and pop stars started their careers at the station. Special TVB events such as the annual ''TVB Anniversary Celebration'' are broadcast to planetary audience. TVB also runs talent programmes such as the annual Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International beauty pageants. Successful contestants may be offered TVB's contracts and represent Hong Kong to take part at world-class beauty contests, including the .

Development

TVB enjoys dominance of the television market in Hong Kong, but it is not considered the powerhouse it used to be. It started in 1965 as a competitor to what was then called Rediffusion Television, later to become ATV, a cable operator that charged subscription fees for its operation, and the only terrestrial competitor to TVB One of the first show launched was Enjoy Yourself Tonight in 1967.

TVB receives praise for its programming from a wide range of demographics, including the middle class, as was the case with its 2004 historical drama series ''War and Beauty''. Its program line-up features a steady stream of soap operas, variety shows and other populist fare.

TVB has been criticised for signing exclusive contracts with many local celebrities which restrict them from appearing on other local television stations. Hong Kong's Cable T.V. claims it is unfair competition . In fact, many artists do not have exclusive contracts with TVB and are free to show up in programmes produced by other local television stations or out-sourcing production houses.

The annual TVB Music Awards ceremony is one of the biggest for Cantopop personalities. It is widely rumoured that TVB distributes the awards to those who are obedient to the company's demands, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption has investigated the arrangement of the awards. It ruled that three TVB staff members under scrutiny were not guilty. Afterwards, TVB reformed its music programs in a bid to reestablish their authority.

On the other hand, TVB was awarded the National Association of Broadcasters's International Broadcasting Excellence Award in 2001. The award recognised the company's outstanding contributions to the community through a wide range of charitable programs and activities. Hong Kong thus becomes the first city in Asia to receive this prestigious award in this area.

In 2005, TVB, in association with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, organized the biggest fundraising campaign in the company's history in response to South-East Asia's recent tsunami. It raised over one hundred million to assist those affected.

From 31st March 2008, TVBS-Europe launched their "Multi-channel" package in Europe. It consists of 5 different channels which include the existing TVBS-Europe Channel plus the addition of TVBN, TVB Entertainment News, TVB Classic and TVB Lifestyle.

Location

TVB was originally located on Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong, and was neighbours with RTHK and . By the late 1980s, the company had out-grown the facility at Broadcast Drive, and built a new studio complex, named T.V. City, at Clearwater Bay in Sai Kung.

To cope with future development and expansion, TVB began planning in 1998 to develop a replacement facility at the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. The new HK$2.2 billion TVB City came into full operation in October 2003. The new headquarters are built on by far the largest piece of land ever leased by the then Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation and the first service-providing company in the area. It has a building area of over 110,000 square metres, 30% more than that of the previous facilities at Clearwater Bay. Studio 1 in TVB City, which can seat an audience of six hundred and thirty, is the largest television production studio among commercial television stations in Asia.

News operation

TVB broadcasts several news programs, such as Jade Prime News and Pearl Headline Prime . It also operates its own news channel, TVBN. and TVBN2 , through TVB Pay Vision .

Management

*Sir Run Run Shaw G.B.M.
*Mona Fong
*Stephen Chan Chi Wan General Manager
*Virginia Lok TVB's high executive

Notable shows from TVB

TVB is a major television-producer in Hong Kong, and its programs usually receive greater ratings than offerings from the other local television stations.

*Racing Peak A popular series about a horse race company starring Felix Wong and Amy Chan.
*A Kindred Spirit was a classic television drama series that was broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong from May 15, 1995 to November 11, 1999. It is one of the longest running drama show in Hong Kong television history . It's exceptional longevity still amazes people in a city where scripted TV drama programs typically only last around twenty episodes, with the show running daily. The total number of episodes is 1,128.
*Super Trio Series 獎門人系列 Long running and popular variety game show since 1994.
*The Legend of the Condor Heroes
*Return of the Condor Heroes
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*Looking Back in Anger starring Felix Wong and Carina Lau
*The Greed of Man
*Detective Investigation Files
*Files of Justice
*Secret of Heart starring Gallen Lo, Felix Wong, Amy Kwok, Kathy Chow, Jessica Hsuan, Paul Chun become a star and grabbed many awards for other fellow cast members.
*Untraceable Evidence
*Cold Blood Warm Heart
*Healing Hands
*At the Threshold of an Era
*Armed Reaction
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*War of the Genders .
*Virtues of Harmony
*Gods of Honour
*War and Beauty (a very popular drama which talks about how four women of the king battle psychological in order to achieve their own purpose by being the most beloved women of the King. Time was set at the Qing dynasty.
*Wars of In-Laws
*La Femme Desperado
*Heart of Greed

Channel List

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*Interactive Channel
*HD Jade

TVB Pearl

TVB Pearl is one of the two in Hong Kong that mainly broadcast in the English language, the other being .

Occasionally, it also shows programmes in other languages, including Mandarin Chinese, and .

Established on November 19, 1967, TVB Pearl broadcasts free of charge to over 2.1 million households in Hong Kong.
The channel is operated by Television Broadcasts Limited or TVB, along with its sister channel TVB Jade. As of June 30,2007, the channel achieved an average of 78% of Hong Kong's television audience during prime time viewing hours .
In 1991, TVB Pearl began to broadcast in NICAM, a digital audio modulation system that provides a facility for stereo or bilingual or trilingual audio transmission. With a compatible television, the viewer can receive audio in their choice of language; typically, English and . Chinese subtitles are available in most programmes after 6:20 p.m..

Shows on TVB Pearl

Originals

*''''
:An entertainment package which shows the latest fashion, dining, beauty, leisure, luxury, lifestyle, shopping and people in Hong Kong. The hosts are different TVB artists and actress.
*''News at 7:30'', ''News Headlines'', ''News Roundup''
*''Sports Live''
:Most live broadcast of sport games are shown in Pearl, including NBA, Football, Olympic Games and others, with own commentators in TVB. Recently, most of them are broadcasted in HD Jade at the same time.

Others

*''Without a Trace''
*''''
*''''
*''The West Wing''
*''Hotel Babylon''
*''Prison Break''
*''America's Next Top Model''
*''Naked Science''
*''Ugly Betty''
*''''
*''''
*''Tru Calling''
*''Sesame Street''
*''Andy Pandy''
*''Firehouse Tales''
*''The 4400''
*''''
*''''
*''VeggieTales''

Programmes

Movies are the most watched programmes on TVB Pearl. The ''Studio 930'' is familiar to most Hong Kong viewers, according to ratings surveys conducted by ACNielsen in 2001. The channel produces themed collections of programmes during some special occasions. For example, the collection ''Be My Valentine'' is released a week before Valentine's Day, and horror movies are shown at Halloween.

Other programmes broadcast include:
*mini-series
*documentaries
*informative
*musical
*drama
*entertainment

TVB Pearl started producing a new programme known as "Dolce Vita" from the spring of 2006. Dolce Vita is a lifestyle magazine programme that focus on the current happenings in Hong Kong, including new restaurants and interviews with visiting English-speaking celebrities.

As a free TV broadcasting channel, TVB Pearl is important in introducing drama produced outside Hong Kong to the populace. This includes such award-winning drama series as '''', ''Without A Trace'', ''Nip/Tuck'', ''The O.C.'', '''', '''', and ''''. The success of these shows prompted the production of Hong Kong versions of ''ER'' , ''Desperate Housewives'' and ''Sex and the City'' . Moreover, the ratings on the debut of the Japanese Drama has reached the highest ratings on dramas on the channel in 20 years.

Since does not have its own television station, its agency Radio Television Hong Kong requires the two domestic free television stations to broadcast their programmes and advertisements. One of the well known programmes is Educational Television which began in 1971. This follows the Hong Kong education syllabus, serving as a reference for primary and secondary school students of mathematics, the English language, Putonghua, and other school subjects. During the thirty-two week school year, ETV programmes are shown on ATV World from 10:00 a.m. to midday and TVB Pearl from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. each weekday.

Other programmes produced by RTHK are broadcast on TVB Pearl on a weekly basis. These programmes are mainly documentaries concerning politics and social issues, such as ''A Week in Politics'' and ''Hong Kong Connection''.

Non-English programmes

Both ATV World and TVB Pearl are permitted by the Broadcasting Authority of Hong Kong to broadcast non-English programmes for up to 20% of their daily transmission time, outside prime time. In fact, only 12% of TVB Pearl programmes are in languages other than English; 83.6% of those are in Mandarin. The remainder include broadcasts in Japanese, Korean, and Cantonese. A Japanese series might include the drama .

Obtaining schedules

Schedules are published in the South China Morning Post, and in other daily , including Chinese newspapers.

TVB Pearl operates its own official homepage which contains information about the programs shown by the channel. In addition to schedules, this includes featured special collections, highlights of some movies, and "editor's choice".
A discussion area called Pearl Club, where audience members may post their opinions about the programs of TVB Pearl, is also available; membership is free. Viewers can also register to receive programme information via email, through the "Pearl e-alert" service.

Partnership with SCOLAR

Since the 2002/2003 academic year, TVB Pearl has been in partnership with SCOLAR in a pilot project to promote language education in Hong Kong. TVB Pearl will continue to be one of the partner stations of SCOLAR in launching the "English in the Air 2003/04" project, aiming at promoting the learning and teaching of English through television programmes for secondary school students and teachers. Two teenage English television programmes entitled ''Road Scholars'' and ''Lizzie McGuire'' are to be broadcast on TVB Pearl in accordance with the project. English subtitles will be provided to facilitate the learning of English.

Partnership with ABC Asia Pacific

Television Broadcast Limited cooperates with ABC Asia Pacific , whose service is managed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , to have a broadcast of ABC AP Australian National news every morning after midnight on TVB Pearl. According to the ABC AP Chief Executive, John Doherty, the association between these two channels can offer a rich and diversified quality programming relevant to Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific region. TVB Pearl also includes a block of ABC AP programmes entitled ''Good Day from ABC Asia Pacific'', intended to help viewers refine their English language skills, every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:40 p.m.. According to David O'Leary, Australian Consul-General in Hong Kong, the ABC AP programmes shown on TVB Pearl would be well received by the Australians working and living in Hong Kong and on the other hand help promote Australian culture to Hong Kong people. Now, in Hong Kong, ABC Asia Pacific also live on , Now Broadband TV and 24 hours a day.This partnership ended on 17 June2006.

Reception

TVB Pearl is broadcast through UHF from its six main transmission stations at Temple Hill, Golden Hill, , Kowloon Peak, Tai Mo Shan, and Lamma Island, and two repeaters at Tsuen Wan and Tsing Yi. The Tsuen Wan repeater started service on 22 August 2003, and the Tsing Yi repeater started on 18 September 2003. The repeater were built to enhance reception of TVB Pearl.

Censorship in Southern China

Guangdong Province

Pearl is brought in and broadcast by Southern Television , the state own/run TV Network in Guangdong Province. Due to the , Pearl is not available for all area of the province. In some cities , during the hours that Pearl is not broadcasting or the broadcasting program’s nature is “sensitive,” the local TV provider replaces program to pre-taped videos .
*TVBS-NEWS “8PM News” : Replaced with educational videos
*ABC World News : Replaced with pre-tapped courtesy messages from Hong Kong Government
*Bloomberg Television : Replaced with music and graphics.

Guangzhou

Pearl is brought in and broadcast by Guangzhou Television , the state own/run TV Network in Guangzhou. In additional to the already censored programs, GZTV also broadcasts ads during the hours that the Pearl is off air.

Awards

TVB Pearl has received a number of awards during the years of its programming production. For example, ''The Pearl Report: Outsider'' won a merit at the Human Rights Awards 2002 organised by the , and ''2008 Olympic Image'' was awarded the Bronze Medal in the New York Festivals 2002.

TVB News

TVB News , formally known as the News and Information Division , is the newsgathering arm of Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts Limited . The slogan of TVB News is "TVB Cares" . TVB's news division is renowned for its factual accuracy, quality, and immediacy.

Newscasts

TVB News is broadcast at the following time slots on the company's free-to-air channels, TVB Jade and TVB Pearl.

TVB Jade newscasts

* 6:30 a.m.: ''Good Morning Hong Kong ''
* 1:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.: ''Noon News''
* 5:50 p.m.: ''Financial Report''
* 6:30 p.m.: ''Jade Prime News''
* Between 8:30 p.m. and 10:40 p.m. : ''News Headlines'' , or ''News File''
* 11:35 p.m.: ''News Roundup'' , followed by ''Today's Finance''

TVB Pearl newscasts

* 7:00 a.m.: ''TV-am News''
* 6:20 p.m.: ''Financial Report''
* 6:35 p.m.: ''Putonghua News''
* 7:30 p.m.: ''News At 7:30''
* Between 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. : ''News Headlines'' , or ''News File''
* 11:40 p.m.: ''World Market Update''
* Between 11:45 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.: ''News Roundup''

Format

All newscasts on TVB Jade are in , except ''Putonghua Financial Report'', which is in . ''Good Morning Hong Kong'' and ''Putonghua Financial Report'', and other business newscasts are seen on weekdays. Also, programmes have in-vision captions for the hearing impaired, as mandated by local regulations . In the early days of TVB News, both channels aired a 5-minute News File, giving the top headlines of the day and a preview of the News Roundup; it usually aired at various times around the 9:00 p.m. hour .

The starting sequence of the news features the sound of Morse Code. The sound heard corresponds to the Morse Code signal for "NEWS TODAY".

Standalone weather reports are aired after the News at 6:30 p.m. on TVB Jade and the News at 7:30 p.m. on TVB Pearl. They are famous for , a cartoon figure which gives the forecast for the next day. The highly stylized and comical format is considered an institution, and is widely recognized by many .

News programmes

Investigative reports and extended news stories are often shown on three programmes: ''Tuesday Report'' and ''News Magazine'' on TVB Jade, and ''The Pearl Report'' on TVB Pearl. ''Sunday Report'' and ''The Pearl Report'' focus more on stories involving individuals and has a softer approach, while ''News Magazine'' focuses more on social problems in general.

News channel

Additionally, TVB's news department is also responsible for the output on the 24-hour news channel, TVBN, carried on the pay TV platform TVB Pay Vision . On June 2006, another news channel, TVBN 2, will also be carried on the pay TV platform TVB Pay Vision.

Official websites

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TVB Jade

TVB Jade is a flagship TV channel in Hong Kong, established by Television Broadcasts Limited. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, with various of programmes such as news, drama, anime and chat shows. Officially broadcast in November 19, 1967, with most of the programmes speaking . Some programmes are broadcast in Putonghua and by using NICAM . Most of the programmes are widely distributed to many countries and is the most popular channel in Hong Kong.

Audience

During 21:35 to 22:35 at weekdays, TVB Jade have the most . With an average of 32 rating point, it also occupy more than 80% TV audiences of Hong Kong.

Digital broadcasting

Jade officially started digital broadcasting on December 31, 2007, with the terrestrial number 81.The programmes of the digital version of Jade will be the same as the analogue one, except the aspect ratio will be changed to .

On-Air Identity

TVB Jade's on-air identity is similar in principles to its European counterparts, but also have great differences. A typical TVB ident package typically consists of only one to two idents , and does not have a unifying theme .

STAR TV (Asia)

Satellite Television for the Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. It is based in Hong Kong, with programming offices in India and Australia, as well as in other south Asian countries.

According to the STAR website, their service has more than 300 million viewers in 54 countries and is watched by approximately 100 million viewers every day.

STAR's revenues have increased from $220 million in 2003 to $245 million in 2004. STAR has emerged as India's second-largest media company after Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. which is the publisher of Times of India.

History

The company was launched in 1990 as part of Hutchison Whampoa group. It started broadcasting five television channels in 1991 from AsiaSat 1 Satellite. Launch of StarTV pioneered satellite television in Asia and in the process catalysed explosive growth in the media industry across the entire region.

In 1993 News Corporation purchased 63.6% of STAR for over $500 million, followed by the purchase of the remaining 34.6% in July 1995.

Impact

Today STAR broadcasts over 60 services in nine languages. Shows include entertainment, sports, movies, music, news and documentaries.

Reaching more than 300 million viewers in 53 countries across Asia, STAR is watched by approximately 100 million viewers every day.

STAR controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world's largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems and wireless and digital services.

In 1994 STAR removed BBC World Service Television from the network following demands from the government of the People's Republic of China. It is alleged that the PRC government was unhappy with BBC coverage and threatened to block Star TV in the huge market if the BBC was not withdrawn. This is despite technology that is capable of blocking BBC World in China, while making it available in other countries they serve.

Management Team

* Paul Aiello, Chief Executive Officer
* Laureen Ong, Chief Operating Officer
* John Lau, Group Chief Financial Officer
* Ella Betsy Wong, Executive Vice President & General Counsel
* Guo Xiao Yong, Chief Technology Officer
* Edward Hanapole, Chief Information Officer

Channels provided

*STAR Chinese Channel - Mandarin general entertainment channel for audiences in Taiwan. It is one of the five original STAR TV channels when it launched in 1991.
*STAR Chinese Movies - and movie channel.
* - and movie channel that shows popular Chinese box-office hits from the 1970’s to 1990’s. Currently available in Singapore, Hong Kong and U.S.
*STAR Movies - an English language movie channel broadcast to Southeast Asia, India, Taiwan and Middle East.
*STAR World - popular and entertainment programming broadcast to Asia. Formerly known as STAR Plus.
*STAR Plus - One of India's most popular Hindi general entertainment channel. It was one of the five original STAR TV channels when it launched in 1991, and was catering to English language entertainment .
*STAR Utsav - in Hindi. It shows some of the popular programs from STAR Plus.
*STAR One - Niche Hindi general entertainment channel.
*STAR Gold - Hindi movie channel.
*STAR Vijay - general entertainment channel.
*STAR News - Hindi news channel.
*STAR Ananda - Bengali language news channel in India.
* - Marathi language news channel in India.
*STAR Cricket - A sports channel consist of full cricket programming.
* - Bengali general entertainment channel.
* - international entertainment channel.
* - 24-hour Mandarin news channel.
*Phoenix Movies Channel - movie channel in Mainland China.
*Xing Kong - Mandarin general entertainment channel in Mainland China.
* - the former MTV Southeast Asia, it broadcasts music television channels. Its main Channel International hub used to be in Hong Kong but has since relocated to Malaysia. There are local Channel channels such as Channel India, Channel Mainland China, Channel Australia, Channel Thailand, Channel Korea and Channel Taiwan. .
* - broadcast by ESPN STAR Sports, a Joint Venture with ESPN Inc.
*STAR Sports - a sports channel which is the evolution of Prime Sports, devoted to different sporting events, such as cricket, auto racing, golf, and many more. Associated with in Asia.
*National Geographic Channel
* - 24-hour adventure programming, formerly known as A1.
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*National Geographic Channel HD - Available in Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam only.
*Fox News Channel
*Fox Crime - is the first and only 24-hour factual and fictional entertainment television channel dedicated to crime, investigation and mystery. Available in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. Soon Available in Malaysia, Thailand, India, Middle East and South Korea.
* - a 24-hour channel offering a broad mix programming targeted at male audiences including comedy, action sports, drama series, reality shows, cars and swimsuit model programmes. Available in Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam only. Soon available in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India.
*Fox Sports - a sports channel, available on STAR Select in the Middle East. Soon to open the rest of Asia over .
*BabyTV - is the first 24-hour, commercial-free channel for children under pre-schoolers. This channel is now available in Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore.
* - Kids channel, available on STAR Select in the Middle East.
*Sky News
* The History Channel
*Granada UKTV - entertainment from now only available on STAR Select in the Middle East, dropped from the line-up in the rest of Asia in 2002.
*antv - regional Indonesian channel.

STAR TV's former channels

* - STAR TV's Filipino movie channel, founded with the merger of VIVA Entertainment.
* BBC World, the former BBC World News Service, and one of the original STAR TV channels when it launched in 1991
* MTV Southeast Asia - music channel which was once owned jointly with by MTV Networks, and one of the original STAR TV channels when it launched in 1991; but it ended its affiliation in 1994 to broadcast separate ways & it was renamed Channel [V] in May 1994.
* - the old name of STAR Sports, and one of the first five STAR TV channels
* Film Indonesia - A 24-hour Movie Channel.
* STAR Plus Japan - A 24-hour Entertainment Channel.
* TechTV - A 24-hour Computer Channel. Formerly seen in Middle East via STAR Select.
* EL TV - A 24-hour Hindi Entertainment Channel.
* Zee TV - A current 24-hour Hindi Entertainment Channel. Zee ended its relationship with STAR in 1995. For further information contact Zee TV Legal Department.
* Zee Cinema - - A current 24-hour Hindi Movie Channel. Zee ended its relationship with STAR in 1995. For further information contact Zee TV Legal Department.
* CNBC Asia - Business News Channel launched in 1996, This channel terminated within 2006 replacing CNBC Europe. Formerly Available in the Middle East via STAR Select.
* CNBC-TV18 - Business News Channel in India, formerly part of STAR TV Packages in Asiasat 3s. This Channel was terminated in September 2006.
* CNBC Europe - Business News channel, formerly available on STAR Select in the Middle East. This channel was terminated on March 31, 2007.

Rediffusion Television

Rediffusion Television was the first television station in Hong Kong, established in 1957, making it both the first and the first predominantly city to have television. It began as a radio station in 1949 and became by 1982.

History

''"Radio Rediffusion"'' was officially founded in 1949 as a highly successful wired radio station run by the company. once again provided an outlet for the broadcasts to the working class who could not afford the subscription fees. When competitor made its first free-to-air broadcast in 1967, RTV had 67,000 subscribers. In April 1973, it was offered a free-to-air television broadcasting license, which ended its fifteen-year cable service in October 1973. Later in December 1973, it was renamed to Rediffusion Television Limited or RTV . In 1982 it was renamed to Asia Television Limited.

Phoenix Television

Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd or Phoenix Television is a Hong Kong-based Chinese television broadcaster that serves the Chinese mainland and other markets with substantial Chinese viewers. It has 5 different television channels. Phoenix Television provides news, information, entertainment programmes. It has a good relationship with the People's Republic of China government. It is one of the few privately owned broadcasting companies in mainland China able to broadcast information about events not covered by the government media, such as the coverage on the Against Rally on 1 July 2003.

The company intends to move its corporate head office to Chaoyang District, Beijing.

Channels

Phoenix TV operates the following channels:
# Phoenix Chinese Channel, launched on 31st March 1996, one of the long-term foreign broadcasters in China
# Phoenix Movies Channel, launched on 28th August 1998. It is now in its 5th year of operation as an encrypted pay-television service in China and worldwide.
# Phoenix InfoNews Channel, launched on 1st January 2001, a twenty-four-hour news channel.
# Phoenix North America Chinese Channel, launched on 1st January 2001, which now broadcasts on both EchoStar and DirectTV satellite systems and shares the same programming with Phoenix Chinese News and Entertainment Channel.
# Phoenix Chinese News and Entertainment Channel , launched in August 1999, which is now a 24 hour channel based in London and broadcasting via satellite Eurobird 1 across Europe.

History

Phoenix started Phoenix Chinese Channel on 31 March 1996. During these years, the development of satellite allowed them to expand their broadcast to 53 countries and regions with more than 20 million viewers worldwide, of which more than 62% are Chinese-speaking people. It covers over 42 million households with more than 150 million viewers from the Mainland China.

Phoenix Chinese Channel, Phoenix Movie Channel and Phoenix InfoNews Channel are broadcasting via cable in Hong Kong and via satellite to , mainland China and other regions globally.

The Phoenix InfoNews Channel was established in 1 Jan 2001. It was the first Chinese language channel that covered news among Greater China regions, including mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. There is 24-hour broadcasting on financial news, stock market information as well as news headlines worldwide. In addition, it provides comments and analysis prepared by analysts on current issues and topics.

The Phoenix CNE channel also broadcasts in Europe and in the Americas, it broadcasts the Phoenix North America Channel.

Programmes

Phoenix features a mix of programmes, ranging from political and economic news and current affairs through talk shows, film and music reviews to movies, and mini series in both Chinese and foreign origins.

Since 1 September 2001, Phoenix Television has been broadcasting a range of United Nations television programme including 57 episodes of "UN in Action", 39 episodes of "World Chronicle", and also some awarded-winning documentaries. Phoenix is cooperating with the United Nations to produce more programmes.

The service of Phoenix is extended to , which facilitates news messages transferred through the mobile technology . The service is charged.

Corporation

Ownership

Phoenix Satellite Television holdings Ltd is a public limited company. The majority shareholders are STAR TV and Today's Asia Limited which owns 75% of Phoenix Television and public investors hold 16.4% of Phoenix shares outstanding.

Management

Liu Changle , the CEO and founder of Phoenix TV said Phoenix TV is "developing a global outlook and independent of local political attachment". He is a former People's Liberation Army Colonel and is known to have produced government propaganda during the Cultural Revolution.

Specialities of Phoenix Televisions

News Anchor Stars

Phoenix Chinese Television features many well-known news anchors, talk show hosts as their 'STAR PRESENTERS'. Most of them are degree holders in communications or language studies. Some of the top 'star presenters' are
*''Wu Hsiao-Li''
** Wu was mentioned by former prime minister Zhu Rongji in a press conference, in which he said that he watched her broadcasted news everyday.
*''Hu I-Hu''
** Hu is a reporter who interviewed the South African ex-President Nelson Mandela. He is also the reporter who has been "the most popular reporter in Taiwan" for 5 years.
*''Chen Luyu''
** Luyu hosts a popular talk show and likened as an "Oriental Oprah".
*''Zeng Zimo''
*''Yang Shu'' , an anchor in Phoenix TV.
*''Dou Wentao'' , born August 21 1967, in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province （河北省石家庄市）, is famous for his daily talk show ''Behind the Headlines with Wentao''（锵锵三人行） with two guests which he manages, since the beginning of the airing of the programme.
*''Xu Gehui''
*''Luqiu Luwei''
**Lu is the first Chinese female reporter who went to Iraq during the Iraq war.
**Lu's contributions on reporting Iraq wars and SARS have been praised by Chairman Hu Jin Tao.
*''Liu Hai-Jo''
**Liu was traumatically injured in a railway accident in the United Kingdom in 2002 and surprisingly survived after having been transferred to Beijing People's Hospital.
**The channel has broadcasted updates of her recovering progress.

Close Relationship with Mainland

Phoenix has good relationships with the government. In January 2003, the Chinese State Administration of Radio, Films and Television granted landing rights to Phoenix InfoNews Channel, making it one of the few non-government related television broadcasters in mainland China able to broadcast information about events not covered by the government media, such as the coverage on the Against Rally on 1 July 2003.

Hong Kong Television?

Most mainland and Taiwan audiences view Phoenix Television as their only source of information related to Hong Kong though not many Hong Kong citizens are watching Phoenix Television for a few reasons:

*Phoenix channels are only available for Hong Kong audiences who have installed satellite or paid for Cable TV , therefore it is far behind popular free channels like TVB and . Additionally, Today's Asia Limited, one of two major shareholders of Phoenix, which is owned by Liu Chang-le and Chan Wing-kei, also owns ATV. Both Liu Chang-le and Chan Wing-kei are ATV's directors.
*Many Phoenix programmes are designed for the interest of mainland and Taiwan audiences, Hong Kong people are generally less interested in political news.
*Phoenix broadcasts in Mandarin Chinese, which is less common in Hong Kong than , the major spoken variant of Chinese used in Hong Kong.

Prospects of Phoenix Television

*net describes both the pros and cons of Phoenix Television:
**Phoenix Television is good at creating mood in the scenes to touch their audiences, especially when it airs a live programme.
**It is a little bit difficult for Phoenix Television to create perfect production in its programmes due to a lack of capital.

*According to the China Economic Review 2003, Phoenix TV has set up a joint venture with Guangdong Television Broadcasting Development Centre to sell advertising and programming to Chinese broadcasters. This could help in generating more income from advertisements and ease their capital needs.

*As stated in its 2003 annual report, Phoenix planned to:
** Further expand its market share in mainland China.
** Continue to focus on educated young executives in the mainland, aged below 40, with high income levels, as its target audiences.
** Start up a production center in Shenzhen to facilitate their operations in mainland China at lower costs.
** Develop its services through other mediums such as the internet, its weekly magazine , and bookstores.

Now TV

now TV is a 24-hour pay-TV service provider in Hong Kong SAR.
It is transmitted through the company's Netvigator broadband network via an IPTV service. Launched in September 2003, the service is operated by the leading Hong Kong fixed-line telecom operator Pacific Century Cyberworks Limited , through its subsidiary, PCCW VOD Limited.

The word "now" is abbreviated from "Network Of the World". now TV is currently the largest pay-TV operator in Hong Kong.

History and Establishment

Launched in March 1998, PCCW'services included a wide range of information and entertainment, such as news, video-on-demand , music videos, home-shopping, home-banking and educational content. iTV had some 67,000 subscribers at the end of 2000.

Due to the liberalization of the pay-TV market by the HKSAR government in early July 2000, the then existing duopolists, iTV and i-Cable, were confronted with ferocious competition. With fewer subscribers and hence the decline in the revenue generated from iTV, the interactive television operation was terminated in the final quarter of 2002. now Broadband pay-TV service was officially launched in September 2003 with 23 channels under the same umbrella company PCCW; iTV is thus commonly viewed as the predecessor of now TV.

now TV is owned by PCCW.

In December 2005, now TV introduced a technology with connection speed up to 18 megabits per second . At least 75% of the service area will be offered a service running up to 8Mbit/s. In addition, Video-On-Demand services were launched in January 2006.

Now TV subscribers currently have access to 136 channels.

Chronology

*March 1998 Hong Kong Telecom commercially launched iTV
*July 2000 Liberalisation of the pay-TV market
*Last quarter of 2002 Termination of iTV
*August 2003 now TV was unveiled
*September 2003 now TV was officially launched

Charging schemes

Since each household has to install a special decoder to view the channels, there is an extra deposit and installation for the decoder. However, these charges are waived for subscribers. With the decoder, households are able to watch approximately 20 free channels.

For the subscription channels, ''now'' uses the pricing model of pay-per-channel basis. There are bundle offers in existence, for given bouquet of channels, but these are less comprehensive than those offered by rivals.

now TV offers a business package for businesses at a higher price than household subscribers.

With effect 1st September 2007, NOW TV no longer offers STAR Sports or ESPN as stand-alone packages, preferring instead to bundle them in to a single multi-sport package. This has caused some distress amongst many viewers who view this move as a breach of their commitment contracts that stipulates that upon expiry of channel contracts, contracts are automatically renewed.

The company, to date, has refused to comment on this issue.

Channel Highlights

In the beginning, ''now TV'' only operated 23 channels, most of which were in English. In response to competition, it has expanded its repertoire of new channels, adding programming such as the Disney Channel and ESPN. By June 2005, the number of channels grew to more than 70, with an increased number of Cantonese channels.

In 2006, now TV outbid i-Cable for the rights to broadcast English Premier League football in Hong Kong, starting with the 2007-08 season.

now TV currently has the most channels of any pav TV provider in Hong Kong. At present, it offers 21 free channels and 103 pay channels, including 15 audio channels. The total number of channels exceeds 130.

''now TV'' catogorizes the 25 free channels , and the 103 pay channels into 9 groups:
# Movie/Drama Series - e.g. HBO HiTS , HBO Family , HBO Signature , HBO , Cinemax , STAR Movies , Turner Classic Movies , MGM , Hallmark Channel , China Movie , Mei Ah Movie Channel , STAR Chinese Movies
# Travel/Documentary - 10 infotainment channels including 5 Discovery Channels, 3 National Geographic Channels, the The History Channel, and and BBC Lifestyle, which provide a spectrum of animal, geographic, scientific, and historical documentaries
# News/Info - including CNN International , CNN Headline News , Fox News Channel , , BBC World , Bloomberg Television* , Sky News , Al Jazeera English* , now News , now Business News Channel
# Kids - Children channels include 3 channels, 2 Cartoon Network channels, and 2 STAR TV and channel:
# Music/Entertainment/Shopping - There are in total 2 Shopping and Gaming Channel, 25 Australian and English Lifestyle, Crime, Fantasy, and Entertainment Channel, 27 Chinese Signature Entertainment, Lifestyle and Music, and 5 Chinese and English Flight Music Channels, including , Fox Crime , Asian Food Channel , STAR World , BBC Entertainment , Zone Reality , E! Entertainment Television , MTV Southeast Asia , [[Channel V#Channel .5BV.5D International|Channel International]]
# Sports - A total of 15 sports channels including The Golf Channel , ESPN , STAR Sports , , Eurosport
# Foreign Language - including * , TV5MONDE Asie , GMA Pinoy TV, STAR News Hindi news channel
# TVB Pay Vision Special Pack
# Adult - There are 5 adult channels in addition to AV-on-Demand, including Playboy TV

On 10 May 2006, now TV re-arranged the channel numbers into a category format, where the first digit of the three-digit channel numbers indicates the programme category.

Languages of channels provided

The majority of its programming is in English, Cantonese or Putonghua, though some programming in Hindi , and , is available.

Business Performance and Development

now TV service was launched with 23 channels in September 2003 but was soon expanded to exceed 30 with the addition of sports-related channels and BBC World and the Animax channel, as well as the Cantonese-language Star Chinese Movies and Xing Kong channels. Within four months of launch, now TV had attracted more than 200,000 customers by end-2003.

Although now TV mainly targets high-income viewers, its subscriber numbers have grown sharply. As well as home viewership, the service has been extended to hotel rooms, offices, sports bars and hotels.

According to a report in Ming Pao Finance on 5 October, 2005, the number of subscribers to now TV exceeded 450,000. Per annual reports issued by PCCW, at the end of December 2005 the number of paying subscribers to now TV stood at 549,000 . These figures compare with totals of 361,000 at end-December 2004 and 269,000 at end-June 2004. Despite the growth in subscribers, now TV was operating at a loss in 2005. By August 2006, now TV had in excess of 654,000 subscribers.

Although NOW TV can claim consistent growth in subscriber numbers, quality of service remains 'average' at best. Many viewers report 'jerky' TV reception, slow refresh times when changing channels, and picture freezing extending over several minutes at multiple instances during single programming.

Strategy

In early July 2000, the HKSAR government awarded five new pay-TV licences. The new entrants were all relatively seasoned broadcasting companies including Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, Hong Kong DTV Company, a British broadcaster Elmsdsale, Hong Kong Network TV and Pacific Digital Media HK. The considerable opening of the market sparked intense competition for programming and viewer share, which can be seen by the extensive use of advertising.

To avoid direct competition with the two local digital terrestrial channels - Television Broadcasts Limited and Asia Television Limited - now TV has sought to build up and secure its local pay-TV position by signing long-term contracts with a variety of channels from around the world.

Exclusivity

*On November 15, 2006, nowTV made a knock-out bid, of an estimated HK$1.56 billion, to secure the license to exclusively broadcast football matches of the Barclays English Premier League matches in Hong Kong for three seasons commencing from the 2007/2008 season. Two years previously, i-Cable had paid an estimated HK$700 million for a three-year contract.
*nowTV announced in January 2006 that a three-year deal was signed with ESPN STAR for the rights to live matches of the UEFA Champions League during the 2006-2009 seasons.
*Playboy TV will become exclusive to now TV from December 1, 2006.

Pricing

has been forced to adopt an alternative pricing model for its subscribers. It allows subscribers to pick and choose their own channels, similar to the pay-by-channel of ''now''. Moreover, from Asia Media in October 2005, now TV claimed that they will not follow i-Cable to minimize monthly charges since they have added new channels and improved the delivery standard, in order to maintain competitiveness. In December 2006, it announced it was instead planning on raising subscription rates after having secured exclusive rights in the ESPN, English league, and Euro 2008.

Awards

At the 2004 Convention of CASBAA , now TV was awarded "The Chairman's Award". CASBAA, representing 120 corporations serving more than 3 billion viewers, acknowledged now TV for its "innovative and proactive marketing of a secure and advanced pay-TV platform and for growing its interactive capability, resulting in a stellar subscriber take-up" on 31 October 2004.

Plans

The company had planned to roll out high-definition television , which offers up to four times the picture resolution of standard-definition television, in late-2007. But on 19 July, 2007, it unveiled plans to begin HDTV broadcasts ahead of schedule. Included on the first slate of HDTV programming are 90 English Premier League football games. Subscribers will be required upgrade to a new set-top box with a one-off charge of HK$530, pay an additional HK$38/month for set-top box rental, and an additional HK$68/month over and above the existing charge for the "Mega Sports Pack". The new service will require a Netvigator broadband connection of at least 11Mps.

Now TV as a Full Length Channel

Now TV Channel is also seen via satellite in AsiaSat 3s through Pacific Century Matrix. The Channel features sports, adventure, internet and video gaming courtesy of Gamer TV.

Related Services

*now.com.hk
now.com.hk internet content services was launched by PCCW in June 2000 for trial purposes. The website, "now.com.hk" is Hong Kong's premier broadband service, offering a spectrum of locally relevant content, including news, movies, music, online games, and more. Members can enjoy a large variety of media when accessing the service.

In general, PCCW aims at providing experience of broadband home entertainment, with now.com.hk for personal computer users and now TV for television viewers, in which the latter tailor-makes content for young people.

Now Business News Channel

now Business News Channel is a 24-hour finance news channel. It is now TV's first self-produced channel, which was launched at 9am on March 20, 2006. The broadcast centre is located in Wanchai, Hong Kong. There is also a broadcast centre in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In addition to live broadcast, there is also a one hour delay stock ticker. In addition to finance and business-related news, there are also talk-show programmes. RTHK programmes are also shown on the weekend.

All programmes are recorded using Sony XDCAM and stored on Blu-ray discs.

NOW.com

NOW.com was an online TV/broadband network operated by PCCW Limited.

Service

The network broadcasted news and other programmes in primarily in , , , as well as select channels in other languages:

*
* Hindi
*
*
*
*
*
*

Channels offered include:

* Business - now Business news
* Entertainment - Star World, BBC Prime
* Music - MTV Southeast Asia Channel V
* Indian - STAR Plus
* Movies - HBO, MGM, Cinemax, Star Movies
* Infotainment - Discovery, Animal Planet, CCTV4, CCTV9
* News - CNN International, BBC, Bloomberg News, * Sports - Golf Channel, ESPN

History

NOW was formed by Hong Kong's Richard Li in Hong Kong in 2003. It offers broadband entertainment portal and pay-per channel television service.

List of Hong Kong celebrities

This is a list of Chinese celebrities born or raised in Hong Kong, or mainly active in the media of Hong Kong.

* Aaron Kwok
* Adam Cheng
* Ada Choi
* Alan Tam
* Alec Su
* Alex Fong
* Andrew Lin
* Andy Hui
* Andy Lau
* Angela Pang
* Angie Cheung
* Angie Chiu
* Anita Mui
* Anne Heung
* Athena Chu
* Bernice Liu
* Bobby Au Yeung
* Bobo Chan
* Bosco Wong
* Bruce Lee
* Bus Uncle
* Candy Lo
* Canti Lau
* Carina Lau
* Cecilia Cheung
* Charlene Choi
* Chapman To
* Charmaine Sheh
* Cheng Pei Pei
* Cherrie Ying
* Chet Lam
* Chow Yun-Fat
* Chris Lai
* Daniel Chan
* Daniel Wu
* Dave Wong
* David Lee
* Dennis Mak
* Denise Ho
* Dicky Cheung
* Eason Chan
* Edison Chen
* Edmond Leung
* Ekin Cheng
* Eric Tsang
* Faye Wong
* Fiona Leung
* Flora Chan
* Florence Kwok
* Frankie Lam
* Gallen Lo
* George Lam
* Gigi Lai
* Gigi Leung
* Gillian Chung
* Hacken Lee
* Hu Bing
* Isabel Chan
* Jack Wu
* Jackie Chan
* Jacky Cheung
* Jade Kwan
* Janice Vidal
* Jessica Hsuan
* Jill Vidal
* Jimmy Lin
* Jo Koo
* Joey Yung
* John Woo
* Jordan Chan
* Justin Lo (
* Joyce Tang
* Kaneshiro Takeshi
* Karena Lam
* Kary Ng
* Kelly Chen
* Kenix Kwok
* Kenneth Ma
* Kenny Kwan
* Kevin Cheng
* Lawrence Ng
* Leila Tong
* Leo Ku
* Leon Lai
* Leslie Cheung
* Louis Koo
* Lydia Shum
*
* Maggie Cheung
* Maggie Siu
* Melissa Ng
* Michael Tao
* Michelle Reis
* Miki Yeung
* Miriam Yeung
* Myolie Wu
* Nancy Sit
* Nicholas Tse
* Niki Chow
* Paula Tsui
* Patrick Tam
* Pong Nan
* Raymond Cho
* Raymond Lam
* Raymond Wong
* Richard Ng
* Roger Kwok
* Ron Ng
* Ronald Cheng
* Rosamund Kwan
* Ruby Lin
* Sammi Cheng
* Sandy Lam
* Shawn Yue
* Sheren Tang
* Shirley Yeung
* Simon Yam
* Sonija Kwok
* Stephen Chow
* Stephen Fung
* Stephy_Tang
* Steve Cheung
* Tavia Yeung
* Theresa Fu
* Tiffany Lee
* Tony Leung Chiu Wai
* Tse Kwan Ho
* Tsui Hark
* Vivian Chow
* Wilfred Lau
* William Hung
* William Mak
* Wong Yau Nam
* Yumiko Cheng
* Yoyo Mung

I-Cable Communications

i-Cable Communications Limited , i-Cable in short, is an internet Service Provider in Hong Kong. In 1999, the company began to develop advanced applications for its fibre coaxial network and to capitalise on the rapidly growing number of Internet users in Hong Kong. It provides
#dial-up internet access service
#high speed broadband internet access service
#residential fixed-line telephone service
The broadband internet access service deploying cable modem based technology via the which is differed from the technology provided by conventional carrier.

i-Cable is also the holding company that runs one of Hong Kong's pay television providers. Established as Wharf Cable, the current 12-year licence will expire on 31 December 2017. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Wharf Holdings Limited owns 73 per cent of the cable provider and the rest amongst public shareholders.

Hong Kong Cable is also commonly referred to as "Cable Television", and is branded as "Cable TV".

Directors

*Chairman and Chief Executive Officer : Stephen T. H. Ng
*Chief Financial Officer : William Kwan
*Director: Fa Kuang Hu, GBS, CBE, JP*
*Director: Dennis T. L. Sun, BBS, JP
*Director: Gordon Y. S. Wu, GBS, KCMG, FICE
*Director: Mr. Anthony K. K. Yeung,

I-CABLE News Channel (Hong Kong)

i-CABLE News Channel is a news channel in Hong Kong. The channel forms part of Cable News Hong Kong's operations, and is the first 24-hour television news service in Hong Kong.

It is owned and operated by Cable TV Hong Kong, and is seen on Channel 9 on Cable TV's channel lineup. News bulletins are presented half-hourly.

History

The original Cable News Channel debuted in 1993, as part of Cable TV's launch lineup. The channel was split into two services in 1995: ''Cable News 1'' offered in-depth news analysis and business programming along with several news bulletins at various times of the day, while ''Cable News 2'' provided headline news service 24 hours a day.

Cable News re-organized its outputs on January 3, 2006: ''Cable News 1'' was rebranded as ''Cable Finance Info Channel'', with a focus on business news; ''Cable News 2'' was rebranded as the new ''Cable News Channel''.

Programmes

HKBN bbTV

HKBN bbTV is a pay-TV service provider in Hong Kong SAR that belongs to Hong Kong Broadband Network.

It is transmitted through the company's HKBN broadband network via an IPTV service.

It open in 2004.

Entertainment Expo Hong Kong

Entertainment Expo Hong Kong is an event held by the Hong Kong . The following are part of the Entertainment Expo HK:
*Hong Kong International Film & TV Market
*Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum
*Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Excellence Awards
*Hong Kong International Film Festival
*Hong Kong Film Awards
*IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award
*Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum
*Hong Kong Independent Short Films and Video Awards
It is sponsored by the Lan Kwai Fong Entertainments.

Educational Television (Hong Kong)

Educational Television , shortly known as ETV, is a series of educational television programmes jointly produced by Radio Television Hong Kong and the Education and Manpower Bureau of Hong Kong. ETV has been an auxiliary means for teaching the primary and secondary school curriculum on television since the early 1970s. ETV programmes change with the curriculum from time to time, covering a wide spectrum of topics. Programmes are broadcast during daytime non-peak hours on the English channels of TVB and from Monday to Friday, during the 32 weeks of the school year. As the popularity of the Internet has increased, ETV has made its programmes available on the world wide web on demand.

History

ETV began with the primary school curriculum and developed gradually. In 1972, the first programme was aimed at Primary 3 students. It extended one level up yearly and covered Primary 6 in 1974. In September 1976, ETV started to cover junior secondary school. It began with Secondary 1 and reached Secondary 3 in 1978. There was no major change in range until 1999. ETV extended to Primary 1 and 2 in junior primary and Secondary 4 and 5 on selected topics in senior secondary school. In 2000, ETV also began to broadcast Teacher Resource Programmes for teachers.

Programmes

The programmes are closely tied with the curriculum devised by Hong Kong Government. Most of programmes are in the Cantonese language. In the early days, it covered the primary subjects of Chinese language, English language and Mathematics, and the secondary subjects Social Studies, Health Education and Nature . Programme topics are changed weekly for primary school and biweekly for secondary school. The length of a programme is 15 minutes for primary school and 20 for secondary. Later the secondary subjects were merged to General Studies for primary school as the curriculum changed. As Putonghua has become increasingly important in Hong Kong, it was introduced into the Hong Kong curriculum, and ETV now produces programmes in the language. Social Studies for secondary schools was renamed to Personal, Social and Humanities Education.

Media

During normal school terms, ETV programmes are broadcast from Monday to Friday on the free TV channels TVB Pearl and World, alternately, so that one of the stations broadcasts ETV programmes in the morning and the other broadcasts them in the afternoon time slot. In each academic year, the two stations' ETV broadcasting periods swap over.

Although each programme is broadcast several times a week, their broadcast times are not adapted to school class timetables. The government therefore provides necessary television and recording equipment for reception of ETV programmes for government schools and aided schools in Hong Kong. The recorded programmes can then be viewed out of the broadcast time frame as required by the school.

Some programmes are distributed in form of VCDs or interactive multimedia CD-ROMs to schools.

With the coming of the Internet age, ETV programmes and other materials can be obtained from ETV website eTVonline.

Commercial Television

Commercial Television was the third free-to-air broadcast television station in Hong Kong. It first went on air in 1975, and ceased transmissions in 1978.

History

In 1973, the Hong Kong Government decided to issue licenses for additional terrestrial television broadcasters, ending six-year monopoly as the sole free-to-air television company in Hong Kong. A group of shareholders formed a consortium to contest the license; the six major shareholders were , Jardines, Sing Tao Daily, Wah Kiu Yat Pao, Industrial and Commercial Daily, and the Lam family .

The licenses were awarded on 10 August, with Rediffusion Television receiving licenses for two television stations , while Commercial Television only received one license for a station broadcasting in Cantonese.

The station launched at 6:00pm on 7 September, 1975. Its logo was a hexagon formed from six angled lines, representing the Six Arts in Confucian philosophy, as well as the six major stakeholders.

Part of the station's licensing conditions was to air two hours of educational programming on every weeknight, with no commercial interruptions. Such programming on the station was primarily oriented at adults, covering topics such as automechanics, interior design, and foreign languages. The station struggled to break even as a result of this requirement. An attempt was made to resurrect the ailing station in July 1976 when Selina Chow, then Assistant General Manager of TVB was drafted in to be its new General Manager. A significant amount of money was spent on producing drama series; The number of staff trebled, and the cash-burn rate escalated under Chow.

On 22 August, 1978, the station announced it was ending its operations, its 800 staff were laid off. Following the station's collapse, the government concluded that a third commercial television station "did not appear viable". It never re-issued the license, and TVB and Rediffusion Television remained a duopoly of terrestrial TV broadcasters in Hong Kong.

Much blame flew around about the reasons for the failure. The Government was blamed for restrictive conditions of the license; the management was blamed for bad program scheduling and failing to control cost escalation; shareholders were blamed for having the short-term mentality of property developers. However, the Government blamed the collapse on the unwillingness of the shareholders to inject more capital, after it had spent its entire 20 million within one year.

The station's building on Broadcast Drive was briefly used by TVB as a studio building, until it became RTHK's Television House in 1987.

City Forum

City Forum is a public forum held in an open area every Sunday in , Hong Kong. This forum provides the public with the opportunity to express their opinions directly to public officials.

Radio Television Hong Kong has live s of this forum every Sunday at 12:00.

Cable TV Hong Kong

Cable TV Hong Kong , previously known as Wharf Cable before October 1998, is owned and operated by i-CABLE Communications Limited. It is the first subscription television service provider in Hong Kong, offering a broad range of information and entertainment to its viewers through over 100 different pay channels, of which 54 are produced by HKCTV.

History

Hong Kong Cable Television Limited was renamed in October 1998 from Wharf Cable. Being the second subscription-based TV after the Rediffusion Television established in 1957, HKCTV obtained its 12-years Subscription Television Broadcasting Licence from the HKSAR Government in 1993. Since 31 October 1993, its multi-channel pay-television service began to operate for Hong Kong viewers. Along with its establishment, HKCTV has onset the trend of using multi-channel pay-television services in Hong Kong. The rise of this service provides a greater variety of alternatives for entertainment and information to Hong Kong viewers.

Having the largest number of subscribers among other subscription television companies in Hong Kong, HKCTV has now become one of the top five media groups in Hong Kong. In particular, HKCTV has a firm establishment in news, movies and sports television programming. As announced in the Financial Summary of i-CABLE Communications Limited of 2004, its sales revenue reaches 2,372 million with a profit of HK$ 296 million.

Ownership

Hong Kong Cable Television Limited is owned as a subsidiary group of The Wharf Limited, which holds 73.3% of HKCTV's shares. The rest of its ownership lies with public shareholders. It became a public listed company in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 1999.

Specifically, HKCTV is operated by i-CABLE Communications Limited , one of the non-media conglomerates in Hong Kong. The conglomerate manages the first pay-TV service as well as a well-established broadband Internet access service provider with its Internet Protocol network. I-Cable is now the only integrated communications company in Hong Kong. It owns and runs the second largest two-way broadband network which produces its own media programs, together with online news and other Internet services.

Target audience

HKCTV originally targeted the middle-class subscribers who would be willing to pay for a diversified choice of local and international programs. Afterwards, it adopted a price discrimination marketing scheme charging residents of public estates with lower prices when compared to the private housing residents. Along with lowered prices, subscribers from the working class can also enjoy benefited services that come along with the combo offered, such as cheaper phone line services from Wharf Holdings Limited and broadband internet access services from I-Cable. Occasionally, HKCTV would use "give-away" marketing strategies to attract more subscribers such as its 12th Anniversary combo; subscribers would be gifted with a DVD recorder upon subscription to their combos. These business strategies have successfully increased HKCTV's sales to over 540,000 current subscribers as well as free news on Hong Kong's Railway.

Channels

HKCTV, producing over 10,000 hours of programming per year, claims to be the largest television programme producer in Hong Kong. It offers around 100 locally produced and international channels featuring news, drama series, movies and documentaries. A variety of fields are covered, including current affairs, science, culture, music, and sports.

News

Cable News Hong Kong offers four basic channels and 10 international news channels. There are four local news channels, including a 24-hour, half-hourly news channel. It also has three basic supplementary channels with weather and traffic updates on Traffic NT Channel and Traffic NT Channel .

*Local News
**Cable TV Hong Kong News Channel

*Foreign News
**HKCTV offers foreign channels such as , BBC World, CNBC Asia, , and Phoenix InfoNews.

Sports

HKCTV offers numerous sports programs with the emphasis on top quality tournaments matches. HKCTV is one of very few broadcasting companies showing the important leagues in Europe; it was even appointed as the official broadcaster of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. HKCTV's leading position in sports programs is further strengthened by Cable Sports and 6 other sports channels featuring international and national events such as basketball, Premier League, the 10th National Games and soccer betting.

More recently, Cable's sports attractions have been decreased due to its competitor, now TV having taken the broadcasting rights to many of the channels, such as ESPN and Star Sports.

Moreover, Now TV had won the broadcasting right of English Premier League for the next three years.

However, Cable TV announces through IOC that they have the broadcast rights across all media platforms for the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012 in Hong Kong. This is the first time in history that the two free-to-air channels didn't get the broadcast rights. The free-to-air channels and critics have expressed concerns that the Olympic games should be provided to as many audiences as possible. However, Cable TV only has pay TV channels and satellite TV channels currently.

Movies

Since July 2006, Cable's Movie Channels: HBO, Cinemax have not been presented on its platform anymore, as its main competitor, now TV, had gained the exclusive broadcasting rights.

There are currently 4 movie channels, all Cable TV home-made: HMC 1 , HMC 2 , Movie 1 and Movie 2 .

Specials

One of the features of HKCTV is its variety of flavours for its viewers when compared to other corporate television channels in Hong Kong. For instance, Channel 18 provides the latest local and international financial information as well as horse racing programs. To meet the tastes of different members in a family, HKCTV offers family-oriented channels featuring programs concerning entertainment, cartoons, music and trends.

Its International Pack is also a remarkable package aiming to accommodate Hong Kong residents originated from overseas. It is an incorporated pack with overseas international channels like Australia Network, NHK World Premium and NHK World TV, Arirang TV, Deutsche Welle-TV and The Filipino Channel. This does not only facilitate the entertainment variety of the above-mentioned viewers but also help to spread the culture of the channels' originated countries.

Operation

HKCTV is operated through two separate yet complementary networks, namely the wireless Multipoint Mircowave Distribution System coaxial network and the wireline Hybrid Fibre coaxial network . The combined networks serve 1.70 million viewers, which take up 95% of the local households.

MMDS is a programming broadcasted through specific transmitters throughout Hong Kong. Broadcast signals are released from the transmitters to various "dishes" which are located on the rooftops of buildings, and are further transmitted to customers' televisions through the in-built coaxial cable.

The HFC network consists of a fibre optic backbone which forms the base of the whole broadcast centre. It develops into smaller "branches" and penetrates into different areas in Hong Kong along the MTR tunnels, ending in customers' homes through the coaxial cable that the MMDS uses. This network enables high capacity which allows HKCTV to house over 31 channels as well as other telecommunication services.

Multi-media service

Taking the advantage of i-CABLE's comprehensive optical fiber and cord network, the group dived into the swiftly expanding Internet market. Its multi-media service center was found in January 1999 to facilitate the development of the second core business that the group eagerly aims to expand. The group started the dial-up Internet service in March 1999, with subscriptions climbing to 185,000 in October 2000. This huge number took up 10% of the dial-up Internet service market. In March 2000, it further developed into a cable modem-based broadband service. This service proved to be successful when the service crept to the local households at an average rate of 80,000 homes per month, resulting in a total of 700,000 homes by October 2000. It is thus not surprising that the Group has the fastest development in expanding its cable modem service in the world.

The skyhigh-speed broadband network service was presented after the acquisition of the certification of telecommunications service. Its provision of a 24-hour online broadband network service made the surfing speed faster and steadier than the traditional dial-up network. The outstanding basic service construction and sales tactics successfully made the group one of the two main broadband network service suppliers in Hong Kong.

The visual content of HKCTV provides the platform for the multi-media service unit to develop fee-charging portals on news, movies, horse racing, stocks and adult entertainment.as well as HKCTV e-Programme Listing were also designed to provide value added services to HKCTV's subscribers and advertisers. Besides, 21126888.com provides an online platform for its advertisers.

Since 2005, the company have also launched its "Multi-Media On Board" service on public transit vehicles. HKCTV's is the sole airtime sales distributor and content provider to Newsline Express. Instant and updated news are broadcast between the various railway notices of KCR journeys through the use of KCR's Passenger Information Display System, also known as PIDS. This further emphasises HKCTV's theme of providing updated news to its viewers, even when its viewers are not sitting in front of a television or computer. This is also a useful marketing tactic to attract more clients to its home subscriptions after experiencing its instantaneous service. Simultaneously, it gains income and reputation from advertisers for interactive advertising in KCR, one of the most essential transport systems in Hong Kong.

Competition and development

HKCTV is the second subscription-based TV station in Hong Kong apart from the 1957 Rediffusion Television . Before the liberalisation of the pay-TV market, the market was dominated by HKCTV and iTV, previously a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless HKT, currently owned by PCCW. In 1999, the HKSAR Government invited bids to open up the Pay TV market so as to give consumers more choices. The pay-TV market was officially opened for bid in early July 2000, leading to its expeditious development. Its opening also led to the increase in competitions for programming and market shares, as evidenced in the various extensive use of advertising and propaganda.

According to the Hong Kong Annual Reports 2003- Telecommunications, there were four domestic pay television programme service licensees in Hong Kong:
*Hong Kong Cable Television Limited
*now TV, operated by PCCW VOD Limited
*TVB Pay Vision, operated by Television Broadcast Company , and distributed through now TV and Hutchison Global Communications
*HKBN bbTV, operated by HKBN, an Internet Service Provider of Hong Kong.

By the end of 2003, a total of 130 pay TV channels have become available in Hong Kong. The total number of subscribers has exceeded 860,000. With the entry of new competitors such as NOW Broadband TV and TVB Pay Vision, increasing competition is expected in the future Pay-TV market.

Comparatively, HKCTV would have a lower flexibility if compared to its new competitor NOW Broadband TV. This is because HKCTV sells its channels and services to its subscribers through fix-priced packages and the preset and prepaid subscription packages determine the viewers' choice of programs. On the other hand, NOW Broadband TV's subscribers enjoy greater flexibility in choosing which channels to watch at will on a monthly pay-per-view basis without a need of prior application to the company. Thus, the contract period is shorter and the cost is minimised for users who might not be interested in all the programs in the offered package. Moreover, subscribers to PCCW's Netvigator broadband services would enjoy certain free trial channels along with their internet service subscription. In this sense, along with the overlapping of numerous incorporated international channels, HKCTV has a less privileged stand in competition since all of its services are only available to its pay-television service subscribers.

Cable News Hong Kong

Cable News is responsible for the newsgathering operation of in Hong Kong. One of its many channels is the Cable TV Hong Kong News Channel.

Cable News Hong Kong incorporates 7 channels, including the following 4 famous channels.

*Ch.7: Cable Top News Channel
*Ch.8: Cable Finance Info Channel
*Ch.9:
*Ch.10: Cable Live News Chanel

There are also 3 channels with up-to-date weather and traffic information, including:

*Ch4: Cable Traffic NT Channel
*Ch5: Cable Traffic NT Channel
*Ch6: Cable Weather Channel

Anchors and Reporters


Anchors
Lavender Cheung	Anny Chong	Jolly Wong	Venus Wong	Tracy Kwan
Vincent Lui	Mei Wong	Taly Yau	Petrina Wong	Venus Cheung
	Kimmy Ng	Kenix Lau

Slogan

At the Forefront of Facts

Asia Television Limited

Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong. It was bought out, renamed and restructured to "Asia Television Limited" in 1982.

ATV currently operates eight channels: the 24-hour Home channel, which broadcasts in ; the 22-hour World channel, which broadcasts primarily in ; the 24-hour satellite channel ATV Home , which is accessible in North America via satellite in , and five digital DMB-T/H channels: a 24-hour news and finance news channel; His TV, a 24-hour sports and infotainment channel aimed at men; Her TV, a 24-hour lifestyle infotainment channel aimed at women; Plus TV, a 24-hour documentary channel; and a two-hour high-definition channel.

In 2002, ATV gained approval from China's State Administration for Radio, Film and Television to beam its Home and World channels to the Guangdong Pearl River Delta region. ATV has also established a close relationship with Guangdong TV to ensure their stable cooperation in programme productions, advertising and sales.

ATV has received numerous awards for its programmes. One of its successes is the local version of ''Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'' , a game show originally launched in the United Kingdom in 1998. In 2001, ATV bought the production rights for the Hong Kong market, and subsequently enjoyed an upturn in its viewing figures. TVB responded by producing similar game shows.

Ownership history

Rediffusion Television, the predecessor to ATV, began as a wired radio broadcasting service in 1949. It launched its subscription-based TV service on May 29, 1957, and was given a free-to-air television broadcasting license in 1973.

In 1981, in the sold 61% of its shares in RTV to an Australian consortium. In July 1982, a Chinese enterprise called ''Far East Group'' , owned by the Chiu family, took a stake in the company, such that ''Far East Group'' and the Australian consortium each held 50% of RTV's shares. The move marked the first time that a Chinese enterprise had played a role in RTV. RTV was renamed "Asia Television" later in the same year.

The company that operated ATV frequently recorded losses, and in January 1984, following the withdrawal of the Australian enterprise, the Chiu family bought all of the shares.

In August 1987, the shares of ATV were put up for sale. One year later, Asia Television Limited, the Lam family and the each owned one-third of the shares. At that time, the members of Board of Directors included Deacon Chiu , Lim Por Yen and Cheng Yu-tung.

On January 30, 1989, the Chiu family sold its shares of ATV to New World Group and for 237.5 million. The New World Group held half of the shares, while the Lam family owned one-third and Lai Sun held one-sixth. At the same time, Sociedade de Turismo e Divers?es de Macau joined as a minority shareholder. As announced by the Board of Directors, the new Chairman was Cheng Yue-tung and the Vice-Chairman was Lim Por Yen. The Administrative Director was Selina Chow.

In November 2002, Lai Sun Development, which was heavily indebted following the HK$7 billion acquisition of the Furama Hotel at the height of the property bubble in 1997, announced that it would sell its 32.75% stake to the company's chief executive, Chan Wing-kee , for HK$360 million in cash

In June 2007, Chan, along with Liu Changle , chairman of , established a company that later bought most of ATV's shares. Afterwards, Chan Wing-kei took the post of Administrative Director General. With the change of shareholder, there was innovation in the direction of production, marketing strategy and human resources. One of the significant changes is the increasing purchase of foreign programmes such as the South Korean Drama Autumn in My Heart/ .

Location

In July 2007, ATV left its longtime home at 81 Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong, and moved into a new facility in Tai Po.

News operation

ATV News is the newsgathering arm of ATV. It produces daily newscasts in , and , which are seen on its Home, World, and News & Business Channels. Additional foreign news coverage is provided by CNN and CBS.

With the recent shift in ownership towards mainland interests, ATV News is now widely considered to be the most biased and Pro-Communist news operation in Hong Kong, losing much of its credibility and viewership as a result.

Programming

ATV broadcasts a range of television programmes, including news, infotainment, drama and variety shows. In addition to producing its own shows, ATV has acquired popular TV programmes from overseas markets to cater to changing audience tastes. Of note, ATV has bought in popular TV dramas from South Korea and Mainland China for broadcast in prime time.

Programmes on ATV Home

ATV has produced numerous classic TV dramas, including ''Crocodile Tears'' . Arts and sports programming are also offered . and programmes are available on ATV World at off-peak hours.

ATV World's flagship English news programme is the "Main News and Weather Report at 7:30" provided under the collective effort of ATV News.

Given its focus on English-language programming in a predominantly Cantonese-speaking market, ATV World carries relatively little advertising and is subsidised by ATV Home. Both free-to-air television companies in Hong Kong are required by the government to provide an English-language service. In the face of competition from TVB Pearl, ATV World has in recent years switched focus from dramas and movies to documentaries and natural history shows, likely because such programming is less expensive to acquire.

ATV Training Institute

Asia Television Training Institute was founded to train people who are interested in joining the television industry. There are four faculties including television production, television artwork, television talent and technical production. Some of the graduates are offered work at ATV.

License

ATV recently had its license renewed for another 12 years. Under the terms of the licence renewal, the Broadcasting Authority required that ATV World provide bilingual subtitles on news, weather and current affairs shows, educational shows and emergency announcements, beginning in December 2004. The company was also required to provide more cultural and arts shows.

Major competitor

TVB was the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong, and was the initial driving force for the then RTV to switch to free wireless broadcasting from paid cable. It was established in 1967. The Group has now grown to a size of about 5,000, including contract artists and staff in overseas subsidiary companies. The viewership of TVB is usually much higher than that of ATV. TVB has an overwhelming advantage over ATV, mostly due to the entrenched viewing habits of the population -- the company has most local music stars under contract and its Cantonese-language service provides a steady stream of soap operas and undemanding entertainment programming.

Actor crossovers

TVB is known to typecast their performers, with some always given lead roles and others always given supporting roles. As such, certain actors have left TVB for ATV in hopes of better opportunities, although in most cases the crossover will mean a virtual end of an actor's career. The majority of the leading roles are actually given to veteran TVB actors. While some veteran TVB actors merely switch sides because their contract ended, some joined because they're offered better compensation and positions to veteran TVB actors. There were several known incidents where TVB had certain dramas planned and were forced to cancel or rewrite scripts because the star of the role left for other opportunities and vice versa. While TVB also acquired ATV actors, the cross over is higher in frequency with TVB actors to ATV.

Current ATV personalities

* Jaclyn Chu
* Kenneth Chan
* Pinky Cheung
* Hawick Lau - formerly TVB
* Gilbert Lam
* Jin Ling
* Teresa Mak Ka-ki
* William Chak
* Judy Tsang
* Derek To
* Karen Chan
* William Chow
* Lo Hoi Pang - formerly TVB
* Joyce Chen - formerly TVB
* Cynthia Ho
* Choi Kwok Wai
* Lulu Ng
* Nic Yan
* Kitty Wang
* Law Shek Yin
* Daryna Shevchenko
* Jerry Leung
* Wong Oi Yiu
* Chun Kai Wai
* Faye Tung
* Lam Wai - formerly TVB
* Baby Bo
* Billy Lau Nam Kwing - formerly TVB
* Bonnie Wong
* Idea Ng
* Huang Li Mei
* Amiko Wong
* Tsang Wai Ming
* Jessica Lee
* Philip Keung
* Cheng Shu Fung
* Kung To
* Kwan Wai Lun
* Fiona Yuen - formerly TVB
* Winnie Shum - formerly TVB
* Angel Ho - formerly TVB
* Amy Fan - formerly TVB
* Michael Tong - formerly TVB
* Rain Li - formerly TVB

Past ATV personalities

* Lau Chung Yan Damian 1981-1987, Freelance now
* Valerie Chow - no longer an actress
* Eddy Ko 1990-2000; has returned to TVB
* Michael Tao - 1999-2004; has returned to TVB
* Gallen Lo - 1983-1984; now at TVB
* Patricia Liu - formerly from TVB
* Annie Man - 1993-1999; now at TVB
* Michelle Ye 2005-?; now at TVB
* Thomas Lam
* Claire Yiu 1998-2004; now at TVB
* 1990s; has returned to TVB
* Sheren Tang 1995-1996; has returned to TVB

Criticism

In recent years, viewing figures for ATV Home have fallen sharply, as the TV station has begun to cater more to the interests of the mainland Chinese audience, who can now legally receive the channel. Some Hong Kong viewers have complained that programmes aired on ATV Home are "old-fashioned" and not in tune with the preferences of the Hong Kong TV audience.

Moreover, news programmes broadcast by ATV are deemed by some observers to have taken on a pro-Beijing bias, reporting news involving pro-democracy political forces in Hong Kong in a negative light. . TVB's news programming has been similarly criticised for its "pro-establishment" stance. Although the Hong Kong media has freedom of speech, self-censorship is commonly practised at media organisations whose owners have business interests in mainland China. A shift in ownership of ATV in mid-2006 sparked concern that ATV would become even more pro-Beijing.

For example, the pro-democracy July 1 marches usually makes the headline news on TVB, but ATV usually makes the pro-Beijing counter protests the headline news. ATV also attempts to dilute the pro-democracy message of the marches by saying the participants have different messages.