Some of you might have already heard the news (which came out yesterday) that the Communications Authority decided to approve HKTV's application to "upgrade their mobile TV transmission standard" to the same digital transmission that is currently used by the free-to-air networks -- interestingly enough, some media outlets are reporting this news as the CA "approving HKTV's mobile TV license." To be honest, both of these technically aren't the same thing and really shouldn't be used interchangeably, since the fact is that HKTV already has a mobile TV license that they bought from another company, it's just they couldn't "use" the license up to this point because the platform they had for transmission was low quality resolution. As a means of background, HKTV had submitted a request to the CA several years ago to upgrade their transmission platform to digital terrestrial transmission so that they could broadcast their series in higher quality, however the CA rejected their request, claiming that HKTV was trying to "circumvent the system" by upgrading to same transmission quality as the current free-to-air stations (Ricky Wong had submitted the request not long after his application for a free-to-air license was denied). HKTV had filed a judicial review against the CA on this issue several years ago, but the courts had ruled in favor of the CA and the government, so Ricky Wong was pretty much forced to "abandon" his mobile license.
Well, now it looks like the CA has decided to "reverse course" and approve the upgrade. Not sure what this means in terms of the license issue (remember that HKTV still has a second application for a free-to-air license in the government's hands awaiting approval/denial), as it could technically go both ways -- this could be the government's way of "appeasing" Ricky Wong in case they decide to reject his license application for a second time...or it could mean that finally, HKTV has a fighting chance at possibly getting the license. Regardless of which way it goes though, one thing is for sure -- the new administration under Carrie Lam doesn't seem to be hell-bent on bringing down HKTV like the previous administration under CY Leung was.
Details about the approval are in this SCMP article.
With all that said though, I also read an article from HK01 in Chinese that paints a more realistic picture of what this mobile TV transmission approval means for HKTV (and HK audiences). Though most of us can consider this a "small victory" for HKTV and Ricky Wong, the real picture is more bleak (for the record, most of the stuff in the HK01 article is pretty much in-line with what I've been trying to get across for the past 2-3 years -- basically that it's "too little, too late" and even if HKTV were to finally get their license approved, it's pretty much pointless, since things have changed so drastically -- both for HKTV and the TV industry).
In the interests of time, I'm not going to translate the HK01 article word for word. However, I will translate the 2 most important paragraphs of the article, which were basically Ricky Wong's response to HK01 and also a high level HKTV exec's response to the CA's decision:
When HKTV switched to becoming an e-commerce shopping platform in 2014, the company essentially lost all its artists as well as behind-the-scenes staff (scriptwriters, directors, etc). Towards the mobile license decision, Ricky Wong responded through his spokesperson: "Half the scriptwriters and directors already returned to TVB! The rest we will have to wait and see before saying anything further" -- meaning that resuming filming again will be difficult.
A current high level executive at HKTV revealed: "Even if the government were to approve the free-to-air license now, HKTV's business model has already changed. Plus for the past 3 years that we've been doing HKTVmall, we've been losing money -- it was only recently that we started getting alot more orders and business has become more stable. However, Mr. Wong has alot less capital (funds) to work with now, since HKTVmall has yet to turn over a profit -- with alot less money than he used to have, where will he find the money to invest in filming series?" The exec also indicated that if HKTV goes the mobile TV route only (assuming their free-to-air license doesn't get approved) and they do decide to film series again, for sure they won't be filming 1 hour episodes -- to reduce production costs, each episode would only be around 10 to 15 minutes. Also, half the scriptwriters and directors (producers) already returned to TVB, so whether they would be willing to help Ricky Wong fight the battle again is a huge unknown.
For example, HKTV series The Borderline (警界線) producer Chu King Kei (朱鏡祺) already returned to TVB awhile back ago and produced their recently mega-hit series My Unfair Lady (不懂撒嬌的女人), while The Election (選戰) producer KK Wong (黃國強) was recruited by Andy Lau's (劉德華) company to produce the series Hong Kong Wall Street (香港華爾街) for Fox Asia, so it looks like neither producer would be returning to HKTV even if given the opportunity -- in the near future at least.
Source: HK01
(Article title: 港視獲發牌《選戰》《警界線》有望拍續集？ 王維基：編導去晒TVB)
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Concluding thoughts: Basically, this "small victory" for HKTV really isn't much of a victory, since it looks like the chances of Ricky Wong filming series again is very slim. Besides, as the HK01 article already pointed out, HKTV's operational model has already changed, so even if they did film series again, it definitely won't be the same as 5-6 years ago -- in other words, all the things that had made HKTV such a viable alternative to TVB back then (aka all the things I had loved about HKTV) would no longer be in existence now. Of course, someone like me would probably still support HKTV, but I can't say the same about majority of HK's audiences, many of whom still view TVB as their only option for HK television programs (just look at the 2 new free-to-air stations that recently launched -- ViuTV last year and Fantastic Television this year -- and you'll see how pathetic the situation is nowadays). Heck, if I were Ricky Wong, from a practical as well as financial standpoint, I would continue to focus on expanding and developing the HKTVmall business too and not even bother with the television production stuff anymore!
LL's Musings 小賢角落
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Celebrity Death News: veteran actress Susanna Auyeung
I'm really sad at the moment, as I just found out that one of my favorite former TVB actresses -Susanna Auyeung - passed away yesterday from illness at the age of 63. Most people nowadays probably don't know who Susanna is, since she was most active back in the 70s and 80s and retired completely from the industry back in 1993. However if I were to mention who her husband is, I'm sure current TVB fans will recognize him instantly - he is veteran actor Samuel Kwok Fung. Samuel and Susanna have been married 40 years and are considered one of the HK entertainment industry's most endearing model couples. Both Samuel and Susanna have been favorites of mine since the 80s and I've continued to follow their careers all these years. Even though Susanna already retired, I know she became a Chinese medicine doctor specializing in qigong and has saved countless lives over the past few decades. Needless to say, I was devastated when I heard the news and seeing how much Samuel loved his wife, my heart is breaking right now thinking about what he must be going through at the moment. My deepest, sincerest condolences to Samuel and hope that he finds the strength to continue keeping her memory alive. Rest In Peace, Susanna! :-(
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