Tuesday, November 27, 2012

News Article: TV licence to thrill: Ricky Wong's pledge for the future

This is part 2 of the article I posted yesterday from SCMP about the whole free to air TV license thing. In Part 1, TVB’s GM Mark Lee got the chance to give his ‘argument’ for why additional TV licenses shouldn’t be issued while part 2 gave CTI’s chairman Ricky Wong the chance to voice his argument in support of the license issuance.


Personally, I feel that Ricky Wong has a more valid argument -- he is pretty much able to refute each of Mark Lee’s main points, attaching concrete numbers / statistics to support his points just like Mark Lee did.

To be honest, after reading these 2 articles, I can’t help but side with Ricky Wong – to me, whether Mark Lee has any valid points or not doesn’t matter anymore because I absolutely detest his attitude! Pretty much after I read the part where Mark Lee “threatens” to take away employee benefits and such if the government “dares” to issue the free TV licenses, I was instantly turned off by his arrogant lack of concern for his people (aka the people who work for him) and basically didn’t care any more what else he had to say. I mean, come on now -- as an employer, when you start threatening your employees' livelihoods and essentially tell your employees that you are "using" them to further your own selfish agenda (which is pretty much what Mark Lee is doing with the ‘threat’ that he made), how can you expect your employees to continue to be 'unquestioningly loyal' to you? Personally, if Mark Lee were my boss and he "threatened" me like that, I would quit right away and tell him to go take a hike (to put it mildly)! Who needs to be treated like an 'easily dispensable piece of trash' and then to be 'threatened' with having your benefits taken away on top of that?

Ask any owner of a successful, prosperous business and they will tell you that their biggest asset is their people (aka their employees) – without the ‘people’ who diligently and loyally work hard day in and day out to service the company’s customers, the company would go nowhere (this is especially the case in the entertainment industry – heck, there wouldn’t even be an entertainment industry without the artists, producers, directors, etc. who are the ‘core’ of any production!). TVB’s management obviously doesn’t understand this concept otherwise Mark Lee wouldn’t say the stupid stuff that he did! This is actually one area where Ricky Wong has the upper hand and why, despite how much some people may dislike him for the way he operates or shoots off his mouth, they are still willing to stand behind the ‘cause’ of his company getting their license – the way he treats his employees is drastically different from the way TVB treats theirs….he treats his employees with respect and humbles himself in front of them, plus he’s willing to take risks and give people chances that they may have never gotten before (of course there will be those out there who argue that he’s doing all this just for show and such – but hey, at least he’s willing to make the effort to treat people well for however long it lasts…unlike TVB’s management, who basically don’t give a crap and don’t even bother to ‘pretend’ to treat their employees decently!).

In terms of the ‘argument’ from both sides….well, Ricky Wong may not be 100% right with some of his points and who knows if he will actually ‘follow through’ with all the stuff he says he’s going to do, but regardless, he still has a decent, valid argument. Come to think of it, TVB’s argument is actually kind of weak – their whole point is that the HK advertising revenues isn’t enough to sustain so many TV stations. If that’s what the ‘gist’ of their argument is, then fine – but if you really want to hear my opinion, that ‘argument’ itself can be shot down because if you really think about it, even if the other 3 stations get their licenses, there actually won’t be 5 stations competing against each other. Why? Well, look at it this way…

ATV is pretty much out of the picture already because they are so far gone, no one can save them anymore – so they basically don’t count.

NowTV has already said their focus will be on the Mainland market and not really HK audiences, so they won’t be in direct competition with TVB.

I-Cable hasn’t really revealed much about their plans, but it sounds like their focus will be more on ‘large scale’ events (such as Olympics, World Cup, etc. – those type of big sporting events) as well as informational shows, so I highly doubt they will be much of a ‘threat’ to TVB.

That pretty much leaves only CTI in direct competition with TVB….so in essence, at the end of the day, there will still only be 2 TV stations battling out – the only difference is that CTI will be a strong competitor against TVB rather than a weak, virtually nonexistent one like ATV was.

So basically, the only TV station that will truly be threatened if CTI comes on board is ATV, since most likely they will go bankrupt and close up shop (which honestly is perfectly fine for most of us at this point). TVB will probably make "less money" because they have to share the pie with someone else, but in no way will they be "in the red" as Mark Lee claims.

In essence, my whole ‘take’ on the issue is: give the 3 new stations their damn licenses already!!!

.****.

TV licence to thrill: Ricky Wong's pledge for the future
In the last of a two-part series, the City Telecom boss talks about his dream for a station that will rebuild lost pride in Hong Kong's culture

Written by Vivienne Chow and Amy Nip


Source:  South China Morning Post

        Ricky Wong Wai-kay loves green. In his modest office in an industrial building in Kwai Chung, the City Telecom chairman has a selection of ties in various shades of green resting on a rack next to his chair. There's a tall green plant and a load of chunky objects in viridian decorating the shelf behind his glass desk.

But one green item the telecoms maverick still can't get his hands on is the government's green light for his free-to-air television licence application. It has been more than 1,000 days since Wong's CTI applied, as did subsidiaries of PCCW and i-Cable.

He has become increasingly vocal over the past month about the delay, making himself a target for criticism from the two existing terrestrial television stations, Television Broadcasts (TVB) and Asia Television (ATV). TVB argues there isn't enough advertising revenue to support more new stations, while ATV has attacked Wong in its Blog the World show, dubbing him a demon.

That has not dampened Wong's spirit. It's a battle he is determined to fight - CTI sold its 20-year-old telecoms businesses in May for HK$5 billion to concentrate on television. He vows to create a TV station that belongs to Hong Kong.

ATV's attacks don't appear to faze him. "They have probably helped me indirectly," says Wong, clad in a zipped-up Louis Vuitton hoodie and jeans.

Indeed, public opinion is lining up behind him. More than 85 per cent of respondents in a survey by the University of Hong Kong wanted more free-to-air TV choices. Over 200 industry veterans signed a petition calling for more TV stations. And his comrades are with him for the battle. A text message on his mobile phone, sent from one of the 220 artists and 500 people on production and creative teams he has hired, reads: "You have sold your son [the telecoms businesses]. Let's do our best together."

Wong is keen to respond to claims by TVB Group general manager Mark Lee Po-on that the government has not been clear about its broadcasting policy and that TVB has been kept in the dark about how many new licences would be issued. Lee argues there is not enough advertising revenue available to support new players.

But Wong says the government has long been clear about its plan to open up the domestic free-to-air TV market.

Pointing to a 1998 Legislative Council briefing paper on a government review of television policy, Wong says the only reason the market was not opened up earlier was constraints on the broadcasting spectrum.

"Under the new technology-neutral licensing regime, there would be no limit on the number of domestic free licences to be issued," the review paper read.

The paper said that because of the plan to open up the market: "Advertising and subscription royalties for all television and sound broadcasting licensees should be abolished."

Wong says the government has scrapped what it used to charge TVB - 9 per cent of the total locally generated advertising revenue - since 2000. He estimates TVB has already saved HK$2.4 billion in such royalties from the HK$26.6 billion in advertising revenue generated since July 2000.

"I don't understand why TVB doesn't know the government's policy," Wong says. "The government did not beg TVB to open up the television market. The government has already given TVB benefits [by scrapping royalties] and has been very clear about having no limit on the number of free TV licences."

Wong plans to produce 260 hours of drama and 104 hours of variety and infotainment programmes this year, followed by 650 hours of drama and 520 hours of variety and infotainment next year. Pre-production has been extended from three months to six to allow the creative team more time. CTI has reserved HK$2.8 billion for the development of TV and multimedia business in the long run.

His television station - if a licence is granted - will begin with five channels. A year later the number of channels is slated to rise to 12, then 20 in three years and 30 in six years. He has put HK$300 billion into the venture so far. He has also promised he will maintain an English-language channel, one of the licensing conditions for TVB and ATV.

In the past couple of months, Wong has taken a new direction in his battle for the licence, going from Mr Nice Guy to a high-profile figure challenging the delay publicly. He has appeared in press conferences, radio interviews and back-to-back media interviews to make his case. After all, the group's multimedia business, which includes TV, has already recorded a net loss of HK$73.8 million, according to CTI's annual report.

Wong does not buy TVB's argument about a lack of advertising revenue. Lee says the TV advertising market is worth HK$3 billion per year, a stark contrast with advertising monitor admanGO.com's estimate of HK$18.2 billion last year.

But Wong says the figure doesn't worry him - he expects his new channel to generate only half of its revenue locally, with the rest coming from selling content.

One episode of a TV series can, for example, be sold to a mainland web portal for between 600,000 and 800,000 yuan (HK$987,200). And Wong believes CTI's quest to offer something different will bring viewers back to terrestrial television.

CTI has already invested HK$87.6 million in programming, including drama series ranging from 10 to 30 hours per series. Four drama series have been completed and four more are in production - with the offerings ranging from a musical, a drama revolving around the controversies of plastic surgery, a crime thriller with supernatural elements, and even one youth-orientated drama tipped as Hong Kong's answer to the vastly successful Twilight vampire romance series.

It's a sharp contrast to TVB's tear-jerkers. "It's a misconception that people don't watch dramas any more," Wong says. "What takes up the greatest internet bandwidth is watching dramas. It's just that young people don't watch local dramas because of their poor quality. They watch Korean, Japanese and American TV shows."

Wong has long criticised TVB dramas for their lack of creativity and limited genre - a staple plot involves middle-aged people caught up in love crises. "How can you expect that to attract a young audience?"

But since last year Wong has targeted much of TVB's creative talent - from scriptwriters to directors and even production crew, as well as make-up and costume artists. Lee says Wong is criticising TVB's product while trying to hire away the very employees who produce it.

Wong responds: "These people are truly talented, but their talents will never shine under the [TVB] system. They are like leopards caged in a zoo. And I release them into a safari park. There, they can run as fast as they want."

Wong dismisses Lee's claim he was aggressive in his recruitment and was aiming to paralyse TVB's production.

"I didn't expect all 30 people I met would jump ship. I offered them only a 20 to 30 per cent pay rise, which is reasonable. Why is it my fault? Shouldn't [TVB] be alarmed and reflect on what went wrong? Their management didn't even know how many had left until months later.

"Do you know how much money they make? A director with 25 years of experience under his belt, creating shows achieving 30 to 35 rating points [an audience of 1.9 million to 2.3 million], can generate HK$3 million to HK$4 million in advertising revenue in one hour. And they are earning only HK$20,000 a month with no commission. But why did they stay [at TVB]? Because they have nowhere else to go, unless they go to mainland China."

Wong says CTI spends HK$1 million per episode on a drama series, against what he says is TVB's HK$300,000. Trailers for CTI's shows will make their public debut on December 4.

"We apply the techniques of shooting a film to making a TV show. All the scenes were shot on location," he says. "We once rented an office at Two IFC, which costs HK$80,000 per day. We rented it for two days, so that we could get a genuine harbour view where you can see ships actually move, not a poster backdrop like what you see on TVB."

But even if CTI wanted to shoot in a studio, it has a problem - it doesn't have one yet. Its 500,000 sq ft multimedia production and distribution centre, which will consist of 12 studios, is still under construction at Tseung Kwan O and won't be ready until 2014, at a cost of HK$800 million.

It has been suggested political reasons are behind the government's delay in issuing new licences. Reports have suggested Wong, perhaps mindful of Beijing's perceived wariness of expanded coverage of Hong Kong affairs, has played up dramas at the expense of news.

CTI's news programmes are currently carried by pay-TV concern bbTV over the Hong Kong Broadband Network, which CTI sold to CVC Capital Partners along with the IDD telecom business in May. Wong says editorial and current affairs programmes will remain unfettered and be integral to the operation.

Wong hopes his channels can break even within three years - but that can't happen without a free-to-air licence. He is confident the green light will come soon. TVB says it is ready to take legal action if licences are granted, while Wong is prepared to go to court if the permit doesn't materialise by the end of the year.

Wong has long insisted he wants to create a station that truly belongs to Hong Kong, a place he describes as free and creative.

"Hong Kong has become a very unhappy place. As a media person I hope to rebuild the pride Hong Kong once had. To some, this pride comes from money. But to me, this pride comes from our culture," Wong says.

"In the past, Hong Kong film exports made Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan household names around the world. We were a culture exporter. But our TV culture has deteriorated by a great deal."

Monday, November 26, 2012

News Article: TVB executive says no room for new players

I came across the below article today and it ticked me off to no end reading it! To be honest, the more TVB’s lame management keeps up their stupid antics, the more they are pushing people (audiences especially) to support rival stations! I, for one, am fed up with TVB’s recent stupidities and even though I haven’t ‘given up’ on them just yet, I’ve been ‘tempted’ to do so numerous times already (note that this is coming from a long-time supporter of TVB such as myself)….

Also, as I posted in one of the forums….

Just FYI…during the TLSA celebration dinner yesterday, TVB’s chairman Norman Leung said that that raising the pay of its employees is something they have already planned as part of the budget for next year and will definitely occur – nothing that anyone says will be able to change that.

So basically, Norman Leung is implying that his employee Mark Lee’s “threat” to cut pay, cut production, etc. (pretty much his ‘threat’ to ‘mistreat’ TVB employees’) is basically FULL OF CRAP! [Sidenote: All the stuff Mark Lee stated in the article sounds so déjà vu to me….ah, I remember now, I heard most of the same lame, stupid “threats” from the various politicians during the recent political campaigns here in California…]

It’s sad that TVB has such lame management running the company now….such a shame that they are single-handedly tarnishing the good name that Sir Run Run Shaw worked so hard for 40+ years to establish!

Speaking from the perspective of one “business person” to another: Mr. Lee, I don’t care what type of ‘certifications’ you may have…the fact of the matter is, you don’t know how to properly run a business. Smart, prosperous businesses put their people (aka their employees) first, their customers second, and their own investors/executives last…..but apparently TVB cares more about their investors/executives than they do about their own people and customers. I guess that’s what greed and the hunger for power can do to people!

And oh, btw, Mr. Lee – some people (like me for instance) don’t like to be ‘threatened’….so yea, keep it up and see how far you go!

**********

TVB executive says no room for new players
In the first of a two-part series, TVB executive Mark Lee Po-on discusses the threat and 'unfeasibility' of new stations in the free-to-air TV industry

Written by: Amy Nip and Vivienne Chow

Source:  South China Morning Post




If the battle over new free-to-air television licences is as much about public opinion as it is about the government's long-delayed decision, then TVB executive director Mark Lee Po-on is coming out swinging.

While a recent poll by the University of Hong Kong found that 85 per cent of the city's viewers want more choices, the two existing terrestrial stations, Television Broadcasts (TVB) and Asia Television (ATV), have been the most vocal critics, arguing that there is simply not enough advertising revenue to support more players.


"We are not against having more [fishermen] join us to catch fish, but you have to create more fish in the sea first," Lee said.

TVB is fighting the new licence applications by City Telecom (CTI) and subsidiaries of iCable and PCCW on three levels: on government procedure, public opinion and in the political sphere.

Lee has questioned the government's right to award new licences before TVB and ATV's latest licences (which were secured with the promise of vast investment) will expire in 2015. He is prepared to go to court to press the claim, and has written to all lawmakers, Executive Council members and board members of the Office of the Communications Authority for support.

"If others are escalating this [dispute] to this level, we have to follow," Lee said, perhaps referring to City Telecom chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay's high-profile "please" for an answer on the licence applications, which the government has been considering for more than 1,000 days.

TVB planned to offer better benefits to its staff. From next year, they would work five days a week like many office workers in Hong Kong, and would get pay rises according to the inflation rate. But if anything goes wrong, the company would have to take the opposite direction.

"The bottom line is, if there's no money, we will have to cut costs. And there's no way we can improve the quality of our productions."

Would this be Plan B if more competitors emerge? "It would be inevitable," he says.

"The government must be clear about its logic and rationale [about granting more free TV licences]. It owes society an explanation on how many licences Hong Kong can accommodate. The government has never been clear," Lee said.

Commerce Secretary Greg So Kam-leung, he says, has been reluctant to even discuss the issue. "Greg told me: 'Mark, let's not talk about free-TV licences today.' What else can we talk about?"

Lee wants the government to clarify three things: how many licences it will issue in the long run, how it arrived at that number and when it will issue them.

According to Lee, the government's consultants never contacted TVB or ATV when they assessed the television market, raising concerns about the accuracy of their studies. Maintaining a tight grip on advertising and content, while introducing competition would kill the industry, the executive argued.

"There is no government around the world, which would bring in a few more stations, knowing they would fail in the end. Such behaviour is not responsible," he says.

But it seems the viability of stations is not the main concern of the city's viewers. While millions of eyes are glued to TVB's shows, audiences are quick to complain about programme quality and illogical plots.

Actor Raymond Lam Fung appears invincible to bullets or explosives in his role as a police narcotics officer in the action drama Highs and Lows. A bottle of oolong tea appears on Qing dynasty emperor Daoguang's desk in Curse of the Royal Harem. The same faces appear repeatedly in various shows: actor Law Lok-lam "dies" five times in different dramas aired on a single day.

Dramas tend to be restricted to a handful of genres featuring either an upper-class family's dispute, or the wives of an ancient emperor fighting for his love - the kind of tear-jerkers housewives enjoy after washing the dishes. It is in stark contrast to shows, such as Seven Women, that TVB produced in the 1970s, challenging viewers' minds and tastes.

And worst of all, some online users have nicknamed the station "CCTVB", accusing the broadcaster's news arm of taking its lead from the mainland's official broadcaster.

However, Lee rejects the criticism. He says TVB respects editorial independence and gives enough freedom to its creative team, allowing it to produce dramas like last year's hit When Heaven Burns, which won the hearts of young viewers (who usually reject free-to-air channels) with its subject matter - cannibalism - and political undertones.

But amid that creative freedom, ratings remain king, Lee says. "Why would [TVB] have to produce programmes that have low ratings? They can't generate revenue. No commercial operator would create products that have no market. We won't go against the market."

So, while ATV's major investor, Wong Ching, chooses to dance Gangnam Style outside the government headquarters during a protest against the licences, Lee, nicknamed "the maths man", centres his argument on the figures.

While licence applicants cite TVB's billion-dollar profits to support their argument that the market is big enough for more, Lee thinks otherwise. "It would be harsh for me to put it this way, but TVB is earning more at the expense of ATV," he says.

In 1996, TVB earned HK$2 billion from advertisements, while ATV earned HK$855 million. By last year, Lee's station was earning HK$2.8 billion, while ATV only had HK$100 million, he said.

Local television advertising revenue remains at about HK$3 billion, Lee says, much lower than advertising monitor admanGO.com's estimate of HK$18.2 billion last year.

And with ATV and TVB spending HK$2.5 billion between them, the money would soon run out if CTI lived up to its pledge to spend HK$1 million per hour on its proposed drama series.

There is a big difference between the two stations' revenue and admanGO's figures because they offer hefty discounts to major advertisers and frequenters, Lee, a member of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, says. He worked for accounting firm KPMG from 1977 to 1987 prior to his television career that spans both TVB and ATV. "If there is indeed HK$18 billion worth of advertising, I won't really care how many stations there are," he says.

Advertising revenue has fluctuated in recent years, slumping after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) scare in 2003 and dipping again in 2009 after the economic crisis. When the economy goes down, advertising is the first thing many firms cut.

The amount that companies devote to television advertising has not increased as more channels have been added.

"Before 2007, there were four analogue channels in the city. The number went up to more than 10 after the introduction of digital channels, including our three [channels] and ATV's four," Lee said. "But having more channels doesn't mean more advertising revenue."

With more stations to choose from, he says: "Total advertising revenue could increase a little, but that definitely won't be a large increase."

And there are other challenges for the industry. Hongkongers work ever longer hours and are likely to become more selective about which channels - if there are more available - they should devote their time to.

"People need to work and to sleep. It's a global trend that they are watching less TV," Lee said.

There is also increasing competition in the ad market - internet ad revenues grew 27 per cent last year while magazine advertising was up, according to admanGo. "You can see all the outdoor ads in MTR stations. Video ads appear in buses' TV sets and even in lifts," Lee said.

He draws on his own experience at the helm of ATV between 1992 and 1996 to explain the likely consequences of too many stations competing for too little revenue. "You cut the costly local productions and buy overseas dramas," he says. Dramas produced elsewhere are available at a fraction of the cost of locally produced series.

"I cut the hours of drama production from 600 to 260 [at ATV]," he recalls. The struggling station, which ran two dramas of its own every day during the 1990s, has since purchased more dramas from the mainland and the rest of Asia for dubbing. ATV still produces variety shows, but local dramas have been completely wiped out.

Lee says the situation is aggravated by the government's reluctance to allow the stations to expand beyond Hong Kong's small market. While their signals spill over into the heavily populated Pearl River Delta, ATV and TVB are not allowed to air their own ads. Instead, they have to hand over the rights to the mainland authorities for a paltry annual fee of less than HK$100 million.

TVB has made overtures during discussions on the mainland-Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, but there has been no sign of a breakthrough.

The uncertainty over the new licences has also stymied TVB's plans for overseas expansion, which might be risky. To step up its presence in the West, over the last six months it was planning an international version of the English-language Pearl channel to be broadcast on satellite stations. News would be its focus, mixed with travel shows and programmes about Chinese culture.

But Lee had to turn his attention to finding ways to fend off rivals, and he has harsh words for Ricky Wong. "I don't like the aggressive way he does things."

He says Wong's CTI plotted to poach half of TVB's 80-strong drama team in one weekend last year. "[CTI] wants to paralyse our operations. In the end, 25 of our staff quit. … If it is working for the well-being of the whole industry, it should train its own people instead of doing something this hostile.

"He keeps bashing our station's quality, but at the same time recruits our people and highlights what TVB dramas they worked on in the past."

But Lee strikes a more optimistic note when he talks of reforming the station's operations - regardless of the competition.

"People are craving openness, and we are heading in that direction," the TVB executive says.

For the first time ever this year, for instance, TVB invited members of the public to choose the winner of the Miss Hong Kong beauty pageant. But the experiment backfired, with the system crashing as millions of people tried to cast their votes. The winner was eventually chosen, as in previous years, by a panel of judges.

This has not deterred Lee. Viewers will be able to vote for their favourite actor, actress and drama in TVB's annual awards show at the end of this year.

It is also going to scrap its three-decade-old Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Presentation in favour of a more authoritative show jointly organised by TVB and three radio stations. The show - which other stations say has yet to be finalised - will also feature public voting.

"TVB does not have hegemony. We want to give the power back to the people," he says.

Lee emphasises that his station is an institution. "Victoria Harbour, Ocean Park and TVB come to people's minds when they talk about Hong Kong. The wrong policy could crush the 45 years of achievements that TVB has attained."

In tomorrow's edition, City Telecom boss Ricky Wong Wai-kay shares why new free-to-air licences are a must.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

TVB Anniversary Awards: ‘Poon Sir’ (Ben Wong) fails to make the list, ‘Heung Heung’ (Eliza Sam) has 3 nominations; Sandy Yu responds to controversy over nominations list

Due to time constraints, I'll give my comments on this particular article tomorrow. 

However, I will say that the most important thing to pay attention to with this article is the Question and Answer session that ND Daily did with Sandy Yu....

******

TVB Anniversary Awards:  ‘Poon Sir’ (Ben Wong) fails to make the list,  ‘Heung Heung’ (Eliza Sam) has 3 nominations;  Sandy Yu responds to controversy over nominations list

Source:  NDDaily News
 
Translation:  llwy12
 



During the press conference yesterday where TVB announced the nominees for various categories in this year’s Anniversary Awards ceremony, the most ‘heartwrenching’ moment came when the nominees for the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ category were revealed.  Last year’s Best Supporting Actor winner Ben Wong (黃智) was shockingly excluded from this year’s list of finalists for the award, however he still had to take on the responsibility of ‘announcing’ the  nominees for that particular category.  Even the host of the event, Dodo Cheng (鄭裕) couldn’t help but show concern for Ben, asking him:  “Are you okay?”  In comparisons, the process of revealing the nominees for the rest of the categories was relatively dull.

TVB’s Anniversary Awards will take place on December 17th, 2012 – as with past years, the event becomes a ‘battle’ between TVB’s various siu sangs and fa dans for the coveted TV King and Queen titles.  Yesterday, TVB held a press conference to announce the final nominees for the various award categories.  Since this will be the first award show that TVB’s non-drama production head Sandy Yu (余詠) will oversee, she has decided to make the show different this year by implementing a ‘one vote per person’ system for the 3 most important award categories:  Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Series.

Every year, most attention is paid to the ‘battle’ for TV King and Queen (aka Best Actor / Actress), however since the nominees in those 2 categories are usually the same few siu sangs and fa dans year after year, many audiences may feel that there is nothing ‘refreshing’ or ‘exciting’ about those 2 categories anymore.  Therefore, in recent years, some of the less ‘mainstream’ awards -- such as Best Supporting Actor / Actress, Most Improved Male/Female Artist, etc. – have garnered more attention.  Since these ‘lesser’ awards directly impact TVB’s future [TN: the up and comers who will eventually take the place of the current crop of artists], the ‘battle’ in these categories have also become more intense over the years.

The most ‘dramatic’ moment of yesterday’s press conference was definitely the announcement of the nominees in the Best Supporting Actor category.  Last year’s BSA winner Ben Wong – who was dubbed by many netizens as the ‘hot favorite’ to win the award again this year – surprisingly did not even make the list!  Yet, he continued on with his ‘duty’ of announcing the final nominees in that category during the press conference.


Nominations list causes controversy – accused of favoring own obedient biological children; ‘traitors’ are not given any chances

Even though TVB constantly says that they ‘don’t differentiate between biological and non-biological’ artists, the reality is that TVB has always had the habit of ‘encouraging’ their own ‘obedient’ children and very rarely ‘rewards’ those who ‘fly out of the nest’ once they develop strong enough wings. 

TVB’s former siu sang Bowie Lam (林保) [one of the lead actors for the netizen-dubbed ‘godly’ series When Heaven Burns (天與地)] and fadan Maggie Cheung (張可) [lead actress for series The Last Steep Ascent ()] both left their ‘maternal home’ [TVB] earlier in the year -- not only that, both artists also ‘criticized’ their former employer for various things such as being stingy, making artists work ridiculously long hours, having antiquated production processes, etc.  As a result, both artists were ‘notably’ excluded from the nominations list for TV King and Queen this year.   In a further controversial move, TVB essentially ‘promoted’ The Last Steep Ascent’s supporting actress Aimee Chan (陳茵) to ‘lead actress’ level by giving her a spot on the top 10 finalists in the Best Actress category.

Actually, if we look closely at this year’s nominations list, there are many more examples of TVB being ‘petty’ and also ‘favoring’ their own biological children.  For instance:  Moses Chan () getting nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance in The Last Steep Ascent, yet the highly praised performance of his co-star in the acclaimed but poorly rated series Master of Play () – veteran actor Adam Cheng (鄭少) did not garner any nominations;  Raymond Lam () vying for Best Actor with his performance in Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒), yet the other lead actor in that same series – actor Michael Miu (苗僑) – only gets nominated in the ‘Favorite TV Character’ category;   veteran actress Liza Wang (汪明) getting nominated for Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽), yet fellow lead actress Gigi Wong (黃淑) – who had criticized TVB earlier for ‘not respecting veteran artists’ – did not make it on the list at all.

During yesterday’s press conference, the most ‘disappointed’ artist was definitely Ben Wong.  With his strong performance as villain ‘Poon Sir’ in the series Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒), Ben was dubbed as one of the ‘hot favorites’ to compete with Koo Ming Wah (古明) and Power Chan (陳國) for the Best Supporting Actor award this year.  Yet, when the final nominations list came out, Ben was not even included as a contender for the award.  During an interview with ND Daily’s reporter after the press conference, Ben stated:  “I feel a bit helpless and truly quite disappointed.  All I can do at this point is try as much as possible to adjust my feelings, as my road as an actor is still quite long.  Everyone has a road ahead of them and as long as I’ve already done my best, that is enough – everything else, the audiences are wise enough to see for themselves.  I give myself the following 7 words of encouragement: ‘黃智賢, 继续努’ (‘Ben Wong, continue to work hard!’).”  Asked whether he is dissatisfied with the company’s nomination criteria, he responded:  “The criteria is determined by the company – I’m not clear what their stance is.  Perhaps you guys can ask them, as I would like an explanation as well.  Nevertheless, many of the nominees in the Supporting Actor category this year are truly good actors and some of them have toiled quietly for many years without seeking anything in return, so I am truly very happy for them.”


Nominees in the ‘Most Improved’ categories raise eyebrows; ‘Best Supporting Actor’ category heated battle

The ‘battle’ in the ‘Most Improved Male / Female Artist’ categories is also quite intense this year, with favored artists from TVB’s 2 main production ‘camps’ battling it out – in the Male Artist category, there’s Edwin Siu (蕭正) representing Catherine Tsang’s (曾勵) side and Oscar Leung (梁烈) representing Tommy Leung (梁家).  And of course, on the Most Improved Female Artist side, it’s a battle between ‘hot favorite’ Mandy Wong (黃智) and the two newly dubbed ‘goddesses’ Christine Kuo (苟芸) and Eliza Sam (岑麗) – especially newcomer Eliza, who is nominated in 3 categories this year despite her ‘newbie’ status.

The ‘Best Supporting Actor’ category is also very intense this year – out of the final nominees, the ‘hot favorites’ are obviously Koo Ming Wah and Power Chan.  With his breakthrough performance as the effeminate ‘So Gay’ in Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽, Koo Ming Wah gained huge praise from both colleagues and audiences alike – the ‘one person, one like in support of So Gay’ poll that a netizen created on Facebook  to support him has now grown to almost 90,000 followers – so of course, his nomination was expected.  However, Koo Ming Wah’s fellow HKAPA [HK Academy of Performing Arts] school mate Power Chan shouldn’t be taken for granted either – Power’s highly praised performance as ‘Eunuch Pang’ in The Confidant(大太監has garnered much attention lately – plus, with netizens dubbing him as ‘the second Wayne Lai (黎耀)’, there’s definitely a huge chance that he might take home the award.


.******


TVB’s Director of Non-Drama Programs Sandy Yu (余詠) responds to the various ‘controversies’ surrounding the 2012 Anniversary Awards nominations list

 [Below is excerpt from 2 of ND Daily’s articles]:

 
Question 1: 
Why did Bowie Lam and Maggie Cheung not make it into Top 10 [for Best Actor and Actress]? 

 Why did The Last Steep Ascent’s supporting actress Aimee Chan get ‘promoted’ to lead actress competing in the Best Actress category?

 Ben Wong is a ‘hot favorite’ among audiences for Best Supporting Actor, yet he was excluded from the nominations.  Why was the ‘public opinion’ of audiences ignored?

Sandy Yu’s response:  The nominations lists were determined via voting by 9 management executives.  Each executive had their own ‘criteria’ for determining who to include in the top 10 list.  We used the method of tallying up the votes to come up with the final list – if 2 artists had the same number of votes, then we would do a re-vote to determine the finalist.  We do not have any bias against artists who already left TVB, as the attitude we took during voting was to consider ‘who performed well’.  However it’s possible that because certain artists are no longer ‘TVB artists’, there might have been a slight feeling of ‘estrangement’ amongst a few of us during voting, which is likely what gave the impression of there being a preference for biological versus non-biological, but it’s nothing serious.  The company did not give us any instructions or rules saying that those who left cannot be nominated.

As for Aimee Chan, she did not ‘mysteriously’ get ‘promoted’ to lead actress vying for the Best Actress award – she truly did perform well!  All of the executives saw how much she has improved and felt that she has more and more ‘star quality’, so that’s why we made that decision [to nominate her in Best Actress]. 

Regarding Ben Wong – I already talked it over with Miss Lok (TVB’s head of production and resources Virginia Lok) and when we get back, we’ll need to have another meeting to discuss whether there are any other ‘lost jewels’ [aka ‘unrecognized talent’] in the various award categories as well as whether there are artists who may feel disappointed in their hearts over the nominations.  We also need to discuss whether there are any categories where the audience’s reactions are particularly strong.  We will discuss again and see how to deal with the situation.


Question 2:  Why are there only 3 award categories for audiences to vote on?  How about the existence of ‘management executive favoritism’ in the nominations lists?

Sandy Yu’s response:  This year, we really wanted to do a 100% audience vote awards ceremony, however if all of the award winners in all categories were to be chosen by audiences, the process is way too complicated!  By choosing 3 of the most important awards for audience vote, we wanted to simplify the process as much as possible.  If we’re handing over 3 ‘big awards’ to the audiences, do you think we’d have our executives ‘specify’ winners in the other ‘small’ award categories?  The nominations list was determined by tallying the votes from each of our 9 executives – during the voting process, we did think about whether there are artists that audiences really like but were not included in the nominations and whether the audiences reaction will be huge or not?  If such a situation does occur [huge negative reaction from audiences], the 9 of us will immediately have another meeting to discuss how to resolve the situation.  In principle, the mechanism used is fair and impartial, however when it comes to the details, there is room for adjustment.


Question 3:   Will the number of audience votes in the Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Series categories be announce during the awards ceremony?

Sandy Yu’s response:  Probably not – currently, there are no plans to do so.  First of all, the method we’ll be using to tally the votes will be quite complicated – we will be utilizing a large, international accounting firm to help us tally the votes, so the results are guaranteed to be fair.  If we really go the ‘transparent’ route of revealing the number of votes each artist received, it might cause awkwardness and actually might hurt certain artists more than help them.


Question 4:   With the Best Actor / Actress categories determined by 100% audience vote, certain artists who have huge fan bases (Raymond Lam for example) and might win because of that, does that mean their performance was the best and most deserving of the award?

Sandy Yu’s response:  Unless the artist has 500,000 fans, then he/she can say they will win for sure – otherwise, it’s not guaranteed.  With the way the voting process is set up this time around, there is no way for fans to ‘buy votes’ to support their idols.  The voter will be required to enter their HK ID card number as well as their cell phone number – a combination of both these numbers will be consider ‘one person’.  Therefore, casting one vote is actually not going to be easy at all.  This time around, we hope that everyone in HK will participate, not just fans of the artists.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

TVB Anniversary Awards 2012: Official Nominations List [Complete list released by TVB]

OK, so here's the 'official' nominations list for this year's TVB Anniversary Awards (as revealed by TVB at their press conference today). 

For those who care -- do a comparison to the so-called 'leaked' list that Mingpao published earlier (reference previous post:  TVB Anniversary Awards: Top 10 nominees for TV King and Queen revealed; “When Heaven Burns” in contention for Best Series) and you'll see that the lists are practically identical.

Since I already did my 'analysis' in my previous post, I'm not going to bother rehashing all of that in this post.  Instead, all I'm going to say is:  TVB, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING???

*****

TVB Anniversary Awards 2012:  Official Nominations List [Complete list released by TVB]

Source:  HKChannel

Translation:  llwy12



This year’s TVB Anniversary Awards show《萬千星輝頒獎典禮2012will give out a total of 15 awards.   For the 3 ‘main’ awards of Best Actor (最佳男主), Best Actress (最佳女主), and Best Series (最佳劇), TVB will open it up to 100% audience voting for 1 week, starting from December 10th, 2012 (Monday) and ending on December 17th, 2012 (Monday).  For more details on the voting process, audiences should check TVB.COM website or TVB Fun mobile app.

The winners for remaining 12 awards will be determined by a ‘professional’ panel of judges – those awards include the following:  Best Supporting Actor (最佳男配), Best Supporting Actress (最佳女配), My Favorite Male TV Character (我最喜愛的電視男角), My Favorite Female TV Character (我最喜愛的電視女角), Most Improved Male Artist (飛躍進步男藝), Most Improved Female Artist (飛躍進步女藝), Best Variety Show Host (最佳節目主), Best Variety Show (最佳綜藝節), Best Informational Program (最佳資訊節), Professional Male Artist Award (專業精神男藝), Professional Female Artist Award (專業精神女藝), and the Lifetime Achievement Award (萬千光輝演藝人大).


Following is the official nominations list for the 2012 TVB Anniversary Awards:

Best Actor (最佳男主)
Kenneth Ma(馬國明)  / The Hippocratic Crush (On Call 36)
Roger Kwok (郭晉)  / Queens of Diamonds and of Hearts(東西宮略
Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉) / Gloves Come Off ()
Raymond Wong (黃浩) / Gloves Come Off ()
Joe Ma (馬德) / Tiger Cubs (飛虎
Bosco Wong (黃宗) / Witness Insecurity(護花危情
Moses Chan () / The Last Steep Ascent(天梯
Raymond Lam () / Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒
Damian Lau (劉松) / Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族
Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) / The Confidant(大太監


Best Actress (最佳女主)
Charmaine Sheh (佘詩) / When Heaven Burns(天與地
Niki Chow (周麗) / Bottled Passion(我的如意狼君
Fala Chen (陳法) / Queens of Diamonds and of Hearts(東西宮略
Linda Chung (鍾嘉) / Witness Insecurity(護花危情
Myolie Wu (胡杏) / Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2
Liza Wang (汪明) / Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽
Aimee Chan (.陳茵) / The Last Steep Ascent(天梯
Kate Tsui (.徐子) / Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒
Tavia Yeung () / Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族
Michelle Yim () / The Confidant(大太監


Best Series (最佳劇)
When Heaven Burns(天與地
Bottled Passion(我的如意狼君
Wish and Switch (換樂無)
L’Escargot (缺宅男)
Let It Be Love (4 In Love)
The Hippocratic Crush (On Call 36)
Queens of Diamonds and of Hearts(東西宮略
Daddy Good Deeds (當旺爸)
The Greatness of a Hero (盛世仁)
Gloves Come Off ()
House of Harmony and Vengeance (耀舞長)
Come Home Love (愛.回)
Master of Play ()
No Good Either Way (衝呀!瘦薪兵)
Tiger Cubs (飛虎
Witness Insecurity(護花危情
Three Kingdoms RPG (回到三)
Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2
King Maker (造王)
Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽       
The Last Steep Ascent(天梯
Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒
Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族
The Confidant(大太監


Best Supporting Actor (最佳男配)
Oscar Leung (梁烈) / L’Escargot (缺宅男)
Him Law (羅仲) / The Hippocratic Crush (On Call 36)
Edwin Siu (蕭正) / Daddy Good Deeds (當旺爸)
Ram Tseung (蔣志) / Witness Insecurity(護花危情
Jazz Lam (林子) / Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2
Koo Ming Wah (古明) / Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽    
Kenny Wong (黃德) / The Last Steep Ascent(天梯
Vincent Wong (王浩) / Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族
Power Chan (陳國) / The Confidant(大太監
Elliot Ngok () / The Confidant(大太監


Best Supporting Actress (最佳女配)
Mandy Wong (黃智) / L’Escargot (缺宅男)
Nancy Wu (胡定) / Gloves Come Off ()
Rachel Kan (簡慕) / Master of Play ()
Mary Hon (.韓馬) / Three Kingdoms RPG (回到三)
Christine Kuo (苟芸) / Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2
Florence Kwok (郭少) / King Maker (造王)
Eliza Sam (岑麗) / Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽
Helena Law () / The Last Steep Ascent(天梯
Elena Kong (江美) / Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族
Aimee Chan (陳茵) / The Confidant(大太監


My Favorite Male TV Character (我最喜愛的電視男角色)
Kenneth Ma as Cheung Yat Kin (張一) / The Hippocratic Crush (On Call 36)
Bobby Au Yeung as Dai Ming Bat / Kiu Po Lung (戴名鈸/喬步) / House of Harmony and Vengeance (耀舞長)
Bosco Wong as Hui Wai Sum (許瑋) / Witness Insecurity(護花危情
Kevin Cheng as L.A. Law (羅力) / Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2
Moses Chan as Miu Tin () / The Last Steep Ascent(天梯
Michael Miu as Gordon Heung Wing () / Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒
Raymond Lam as Wai Sai Lok (韋世) / Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒
Damian Lau as Arthur Chung (鍾卓) / Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族
Wayne Lai as Li Lian Ying (李蓮) / The Confidant(大太監
Raymond Wong as Yiu Sheung Hei (姚雙) / The Confidant(大太監


My Favorite Female TV Character (我最喜愛的電視女角色)
Charmaine Sheh as Hazel Yip (葉梓) / When Heaven Burns(天與地
Niki Chow as Tsui Sum () / Bottled Passion(我的如意狼君
Tavia Yeung as Fan Zhi Yu (范子) / The Hippocratic Crush (On Call 36)
Fala Chen as Chung Mo Yim (鍾無) / Queens of Diamonds and of Hearts(東西宮略
Myolie Wu as Wong Si Fu (王思) / Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2
Kristal Tin as Yim Sam Liang (嚴三) / King Maker (造王)
Eliza Sam as Heung Nai Hing (香乃) / Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽
Kate Tsui as Pat Chan Ka Pik (陳家) / Highs and Lows (雷霆掃毒
Tavia Yeung as Hong Zhi Kwan (康子) / Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族
Michelle Yim as Empress Ci’Xi () / The Confidant(大太監


Most Improved Male Artist (飛躍進步男藝)
Vincent Wong (王浩信) / Wish and Switch (換樂無), Tiger Cubs (飛虎), Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles (名媛望族

King Kong (金剛) / Let It Be Love (4 In Love), King Maker (造王), Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2), JSG Jade Solid Gold, Battle of the Senses (五覺大), Fun 3 ½ Weeks (玩轉三周1/2), Neighborhood Gourmet (街坊廚)

Oscar Leung (梁烈唯) / L’Escargot (缺宅男), Queens of Diamonds and of Hearts(東西宮略,  House of Harmony and Vengeance (耀舞長), Tiger Cubs (飛虎), The Confidant(大太監), Big Boys Club (兄弟)

Edwin Siu (蕭正楠) / Daddy Good Deeds (當旺爸), Gloves Come Off (), The Last Steep Ascent(天梯), The Confidant(大太監), Fun 3 ½ Weeks (玩轉三周1/2)

Him Law (羅仲) / L’Escargot (缺宅男), The Hippocratic Crush (On Call 36), Tiger Cubs (飛虎),  Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽        


Most Improved Female Artist (飛躍進步女藝)

Katy Kung (龔嘉欣) / Bottled Passion(我的如意狼君), Gloves Come Off (), No Good Either Way (衝呀!瘦薪兵), The Last Steep Ascent(天梯),  Living Up (更上一層樓)

Eliza Sam (岑麗香) / Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2), Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽), Food and Travel: The Amur River (黑龍)

Christine Kuo (苟芸慧) / Ghetto Justice 2(怒火街頭2),  Tiger Cubs (飛虎

Mandy Wong (黃智雯) / L’Escargot (缺宅男), The Hippocratic Crush (On Call 36), Tiger Cubs (飛虎),  Divas in Distress(巴不得媽媽        

Cilla Kung (樂曈) / Three Kingdoms RPG (回到三), Daddy Good Deeds (當旺爸), Witness Insecurity(護花危情


Best Variety Show Host (最佳節目主)
Grasshopper () / All Star World Exam (環遊世界明星賽)
Jamie Chik (戚美) / Tasting Life (珍情品)
Nancy Sit (薛家) and Louis Yuen (阮兆) / Let’s Play With our Food (皆大歡喜之溏心風)
Luisa Maria Leitao (黎芷) / Telling Maria (最佳男主)
Louis Yuen (阮兆) , Johnson Lee (李思), Wong Cho Lam (王祖) /  Games Gods Play (萬千升呢福祿)


Best Variety Show (最佳綜藝節)
Map of Happiness (快樂地)
All Star World Exam (環遊世界明星)
Let’s Play With our Food (
皆大歡喜之溏心風)
Telling Maria (最佳男主)
Games Gods Play (萬千升呢福祿)

Best Informational Program (最佳資訊節)
Bride Wannabees (盛女愛作)
Number Matters (700萬人的數)
Homecoming ()
Tasting Life (珍情品)
Pilgrimage of Hope (走過烽火大)