Ok, now that everyone has had a chance to watch the Sales Presentation clips (I mean the actual drama series and variety program clips, not the Sales Presentation show itself), including myself, here’s my feedback on which programs I’m ‘anticipating’ and which ones I will probably ‘pass’ on….
**Note: There’s no special significance to the order in which the drama series are listed – I pretty much listed them based on the order in which the preview clips are shown in the Youtube links.**
Overall feedback: I have to hand it to the CTI/HKTV cast and crew for doing such a great job with the filming and editing of the clips. The high quality filming equipment and techniques really show – the way the preview clips came out, I truly felt that I was watching trailer clips for upcoming Hollywood movies / TV shows!
Due to time constraints, I didn’t actually link any of the series back to the previous posts that I did but if anyone is interested in looking at the cast lists or plot summaries, let me know and I’ll be glad to point you in the right direction.
.****.
Fantasy Love Song 201314 (童話戀曲201314) [already finished filming]
My Thoughts: This series reminds me of the movie “Chicago” with the whole music / dance theme + love story thing. Anyway, I’m not tremendously fond of the main cast (though I like majority of the supporting cast), but the storyline does sound interesting and the scenery looks absolutely stunning…plus I love musicals – it’s one of my favorite ‘genres’ for one, and two, I haven’t watched a musical in such a long time, so it will be fun to get back into one again. Also, it’s nice to see actual singers in this series (since it’s a ‘musical’ after all) as opposed to actors/actresses ‘pretending’ to sing. Another ‘plus’ is the fact that they got a pretty well-known record producer / songwriter (Mark Lui) to ‘do’ (produce) all the music / songs in this series so at least there’s a bit of ‘name recognition’ there.
Based on what I’ve seen / read so far, this series is definitely on my ‘to watch’ list. Hope the final product lives up to the expectation!
Three Sides of Shape Doctors (三面形醫) [currently filming]
My Thoughts: Definitely interested in this series, since the 3 main leads (John Chiang, Frankie Lam, Wilson Tsui) are among my ‘favorites’ in terms of actors (I like the supporting cast as well). The trailer clip was pretty riveting and the theme is quite refreshing, since very few (if any) HK series explore the subject of plastic surgery in such detail (key word here is ‘HK series’). I know many people said this series is similar to the American drama “Nip/Tuck”, which is probably true, but since I’ve never watched that series, I can’t really comment on this piece of it. The other ‘draw’ with this series is that it will supposedly show real life surgery scenes, though I’m assuming that those scenes will be cut out in the TV version (since the HK audiences are ‘ultra-conservative’ plus there are limitations to what is allowed to be shown on TV based on broadcasting regulations) – so it looks like most of us will need to watch the ‘web version’ of the series in order to get the ‘complete’ viewing experience with this series.
The only thing about this series that I’m not sure about is the fact that it doesn’t have any strong female leads in it (at least none that are familiar to me) – supposedly, Kate Yeung is the ‘female lead’ in this series, but honestly, I have no clue who she is or how her acting is like, so not sure at this point how/ if that is going to affect my ‘viewing experience’ with this series.
Fiery News Catalyst (導火新聞線) [starts filming in 2013]
My Thoughts: This is actually a ‘new’ series that has not been formally announced yet (hence the lack of cast list and series summary) and won’t actually commence filming until 2013. I read a little bit on what this series will be about on Weibo (it’s about the tabloid /newsmagazine reporting industry) and so far, it sounds interesting. Looks like the biggest ‘selling point’ of this series will be Noel Leung playing the part of a ruthless, ethically questionable editor-in-chief a news agency who is willing to go to great lengths for a news story, even if it means harming others in the process -- this type of character is definitely different from the typecasted ‘sweet angelic girl’ roles that Noel usually got when she was at TVB. Noel has always been a ‘decent’ actress to me, so I definitely don’t mind watching her in a series.
The preview trailer for the series was quite gripping with the whole ‘pregnant woman jumping off a building’ scene and the aftermath of that….will definitely be interesting to see what happens. Since the series hasn’t started filming yet, I’m assuming the script isn’t complete yet (that’s one of the big differences between CTI and TVB – filming doesn’t start until a complete script is in hand), which means that the story concept and cast could still change. Anyway, let’s wait and see once more details come out next year (when the series is ‘officially’ announced)…
Still Have Time to Love You Again (還來得及再愛你) [already finished filming]
My Thoughts: Ok, I can already say right now that this series is a ‘skip’ for me, primarily because I can’t stand ‘idol series’ nowadays (I’ve watched quite a few of them in the past and hated them!) plus I’m not a big fan of the vampire theme. Also, the cast of this series is the least ‘appealing’ to me because I barely know any of them (not surprising since this IS an idol series after all, so the main cast consists primarily of youngsters, most of whom are probably newbies).
I know one of the ‘selling points’ of this series is its main lead, Taiwanese actor Danson Tang – sorry, nothing against the guy, but I stopped following Taiwanese entertainment ‘religiously’ years ago, so I have no clue who all the ‘popular’ artists are in Taiwan nowadays. Personally, I had never heard of Danson Tang until CTI/HKTV came along, so to me, whether he is in the series or not doesn’t make a difference – it won’t change my opinion about whether to watch this series or not.
Frightful Century (驚異世紀) [already finished filming]
My Thoughts: This series will also be a definite ‘skip’ for me because, well, I don’t like to watch horror flicks. Ok, fine, I admit I have a ‘weak heart’ and have never been able to ‘tolerate’ that particular genre – way too intense for me! I actually do like the cast of the series and from all the stuff I’ve read, it sounds like the artists had very challenging roles, which means these particular performances could be ‘breakthroughs’ of sorts for them in terms of acting. Unfortunately though, based on the trailer, the series looks way too scary – I actually covered my eyes practically the entire time that I was watching the trailer for the series because the scenes shown were too ‘horrifying’ for me (never did that before!). Ah well – luckily this same cast is in other series as well, so I’ll still get a chance to see them in action elsewhere.
Police Boundaries (警界線) [started filming, continuing in 2013]
My Thoughts: This is definitely one of my most anticipated CTI/HKTV series! I’ve always been somewhat of a ‘fan’ of cop series – that particular theme / genre just never seems to get old, no matter how many times it is ‘re-used’. Based on what I gather from the trailer as well as the series summary, it does sound like the series will deal with the ‘black cop’ concept again, which has pretty much been filmed to death by both TVB as well as the HK movie industry already, so it will be interesting to see what type of different spin HKTV brings to it.
I’m actually very excited about this series because I love the cast – it’s been years since I’ve seen veteran actor Liu Kai Chi on the small screen --he’s been doing movies for more than a decade already, but since I don’t watch HK movies as much now as I used to, I definitely miss seeing him! Oh and Dominic Lam is in this one as well (his name is listed second after Liu Kai Chi’s), along with Leila Tong, Deno Cheung, Lam Lei, Felix Lok, Annie Liu, etc. – a lot of artists I like and enjoy watching! From the trailer, it looks like Liu Kai Chi will play the ‘black cop’ in the series, which means that he will be taking on a villain role again (it’s been years since I’ve seen him in a villain role) and matching wits against Dominic Lam (wonder whether his role will be good guy or villain – or little bit of both?) as well as Lawrence Chou. Can’t wait!
Oh, by the way – all reports indicate that HKTV is going to air this series as their ‘opening series’ – meaning it’s going to be the very first series they air when they finally get their license and ‘open up shop’. At first I was wondering how this was going to work, since the series is still being filmed and isn’t even close to completion yet – but then I remembered that they said they were going to make a movie version of this series first and then the storyline will continue as a TV series…so it looks like they will probably air the movie version (assuming it will probably be a few hours?), then later on follow it up with the actual series (not sure if there will actually be a time lapse in between). Smart choice if you think about it because cop series traditionally fare well with audiences and since it appears from the trailer that there will be quite a few ‘action-packed’ scenes, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a hit with audiences…great way to start off with a bang!
Second Life (第二人生) [already finished filming]
My Thoughts: Based on the trailer and the series summary, sounds like this will be HKTV’s ‘time travel’ series – though unlike the TVB ones, it’s not going to be the obvious ‘ancient time to modern time’ and vice versa type. Instead, the characters are going to remain in the modern world and essentially will ‘travel back in time’ to get a second chance at living their lives differently. It’s supposed to be one of those motivational, life inspiring, feel good type of series….whether the series will actually live up to that remains to be seen.
To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the cast (though I found most of the artists in here quite tolerable) but I’ll probably watch this series just to see how they do the ‘time travel’ theme – plus there’s a huge music component to this series as well (obviously, since majority of the cast consists of singers), so that will be nice to watch. Oh, and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the special ‘concert’ thing that they did for the series – the first time ever where the cast held a live concert (complete with real life audiences) at an actual arena (the Asia Expo Centre) and integrated it into the series….not sure how the editing is going to work or whether the cast will actually be playing the characters in the series or themselves, but it will definitely be interesting to watch!
Brain Opening Detective (開腦儆探) [currently filming]
My Thoughts: Of course this is a ‘must watch’ for me, given the fact that Felix Wong is the lead in the series (obvious Felix fan here…haha!). Other than Felix, the rest of the cast might not be too ‘impressive’ (other than perhaps Sam Lee and Lo Hoi Pang) but I’m ok with that because I already knew going into it that the cast will consist of quite a few ‘newbies’. Besides, it looks like the ‘draw’ of the series (based on the trailer and series summary) will be the storyline more than the cast – the ‘X-Men’ type spin on the traditional investigative / detective storyline sounds really interesting!
Another reason why I’m looking forward to this series is because it’s also the ‘debut’ series for Felix’s real life daughter Adrian Wong – I’m curious to see how her performance will be (though with her parents’ acting genes plus her dad personally ‘teaching’ her on set, can’t be that bad I’m assuming). And for those who might be curious – no, they are NOT playing father / daughter in this series. Oh, and one other interesting ‘tidbit’ about this series: Felix’s ‘other daughter’ is in the series as well….now before anyone gets confused, I’m referring to the actress who played his daughter in TVB’s anniversary series from 2010, Gun Metal Grey – yes, she(Janice Ting) also joined CTI and will be collaborating with Felix again in this series (though not sure about her role). Interesting!
Kung Fu (功夫) [starts filming in 2013]
My Thoughts: Not sure about this one actually, since this series hasn’t been announced yet, so I have no clue in terms of cast and storyline. All I know is that this is the kung fu themed series Yuen Wah mentioned awhile back ago that he would be filming. Not surprisingly, both Sin Ho Ying and Li Ka are featured in the trailer as well (both have martial arts / kung fu backgrounds so of course they would be in this series) – the others who were featured all have some type of martial arts or action hero / heroine background too…so if all of them will be in the cast, then at least the action scenes and the ‘fighting’ will look decently genuine! Die-hard kung fu / martial arts fans will most likely enjoy this series!
For me, I’m actually going to hold off judgment until I found out more about the series, since virtually nothing has been released about this series yet (this is the only series out of the 12 featured where there has been no information whatsoever on Weibo or in the various entertainment news sites – at least none that I’ve been able to find). So let’s wait and see…
Hakka Women (客家女人) [currently filming]
My Thoughts: I have a feeling this is going to be one of the more highly promoted series for HKTV because it stars 2 award-winning actresses: TV Queen (Maggie Cheung) and Movie Queen (Prudence Liew). The two will play sisters who grow up in completely different environments and live very different lives – they are at odds with each other but will be brought back together due to some things that occur. From watching the trailer, I do agree that the series looks a bit on the ‘soapy’ side (meaning ‘soap opera’) – not sure if that’s a good or bad thing….but one thing that the scriptwriter / director ‘promised’ on Weibo (yes, I’ve been following the Weibo accounts of most of the behind-the-scenes people) is that this series will be ‘different’ from the traditional ‘see lai’ (housewife) series that we are used to seeing at TVB (for one, there won’t be a ‘love triangle’ thing between the 2 sisters in the series….good!).
In terms of the rest of the cast – well, it looks like Savio Tsang will have a heavy role in this series (I believe he’s second male lead here?), which is great because it’s been years since he’s had a ‘decent’ role (he pretty much got pushed down to 3rd / 4th line status at TVB…). And even though I have no clue how Poon Chan Leung’s acting will be since he’s a theater actor and I obviously can’t watch stageplays due to not living in HK, I read that he’s won quite a few awards in the theater world, so the ‘credentials’ are definitely there. The rest of the supporting cast is made up of actors and actresses that I’m familiar with (and grew up watching) as well, so that’s definitely another ‘plus’ for me. I’ll probably keep this one on my ‘watch’ list, at least based on what I’ve read and seen so far…
Age of Housing Passion (歲月樓情) [starts filming in 2013]
My Thoughts: From a casting perspective, this series is probably the most ‘heavyweight’ one out of all the series -- let’s see, there’s TV King Ha Yu and Movie Queen Paw Hee Ching (2 excellent, award-winning veteran artists) plus Felix Wong (haven’t seen him and Ha Yu collaborate in a series since like back in the 80s), Savio Tsang, and Lam Lei. On the actress side, there’s Emily Kwan (whom I haven’t seen in a long time) and Leila Tong (this is probably her 3rd series now with HKTV?) – both of whom will have some type of relationship with Felix in the series (if I read correctly that is). Hmmm – Felix and Leila….interesting pairing!
Anyway, since this series has not been officially announced yet either and there is no series / plot summary available yet, can’t really tell what the series will be about based on the short trailer. But with the strong cast (and Felix of course…LOL!), this one is also on my ‘watch’ list….at least for now!
LL's Musings 小賢角落
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
News Article: Ricky Wong’s two main tactics to ‘grab’ audiences; targets TVB’s pain points
Here's an article from the latest issue of Mingpao Weekly that summarizes CTI / HKTV's Sales Presentation event from earlier in the week. Out of all the articles I've read about the event so far, this article is one of the better ones in that it uses language that is more neutral and doesn't automatically try to put CTI/HKTV in a negative light from the get-go like most of the other articles from other Media sources have been doing.
I like how this particular article summarizes some of the main differences between the trailers for CTI/HKTV's series versus other stations while at the same time getting first-hand information from Ricky Wong on what some of his upcoming plans are. Most important of all, this article addresses the whole 'supporting artist' versus 'leading artist' thing in a fair way -- instead of automatically 'bashing' CTI/HKTV's artists as being 'inferior' just because they are not 'first line siu sangs and fadans', the writer of the article actually poses the question to Ricky Wong and gives him the chance to 'explain' the reasoning behind it.
Overall, this article is a good summary of CTI/HKTV's Sales Presentation -- definitely a 'must-read' for those who have been following the whole TV wars thing!
*****
Ricky Wong’s two main tactics to ‘grab’ audiences; targets TVB’s pain points
Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2300
Translation: llwy12
For Ricky Wong’s
(王維基) HKTV (formerly CTI) to be a
‘formidable’ opponent facing a strong, long-standing TV station (TVB) that has
enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the HK television market for such a long time,
audiences are most concerned with what type of ‘advantage’ HKTV will have over
its opponent and what will set them apart from the competition?
I like how this particular article summarizes some of the main differences between the trailers for CTI/HKTV's series versus other stations while at the same time getting first-hand information from Ricky Wong on what some of his upcoming plans are. Most important of all, this article addresses the whole 'supporting artist' versus 'leading artist' thing in a fair way -- instead of automatically 'bashing' CTI/HKTV's artists as being 'inferior' just because they are not 'first line siu sangs and fadans', the writer of the article actually poses the question to Ricky Wong and gives him the chance to 'explain' the reasoning behind it.
Overall, this article is a good summary of CTI/HKTV's Sales Presentation -- definitely a 'must-read' for those who have been following the whole TV wars thing!
*****
Ricky Wong’s two main tactics to ‘grab’ audiences; targets TVB’s pain points
Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2300
With their Sales
Presentation event that took place this past Tuesday (December 4th),
HKTV seemed to take a ‘full attack’ approach in declaring ‘war’ against TVB --
the behind-the-scenes production crew, which consists primarily of producers,
scriptwriters, and directors who were ‘poached’ from TVB earlier in the year,
seem to be especially motivated in this ‘battle’ against their former
employer. Based on the preview clips of
the 12 series shown during HKTV’s Sales Presentation, the subject matter explored
as well as filming techniques used definitely break through the ‘usual’ family
friendly fare we are used to seeing with TVB.
Despite the fact that HKTV has not gotten their free-to-air TV license
yet and Ricky Wong is ‘burning money’ every day with virtually no incoming
profits, that has not stopped the fledgling station from continuing their
recruitment efforts -- reportedly, Ricky Wong has targeted a bunch of artists
whose contracts with TVB are scheduled to expire in 2014. Given that a ‘fierce battle’ between the 2
stations appears to be ‘inevitable’ at this point, it’s no surprise then that TVB does not dare
to let down its guard – on the day of HKTV’s Sales Presentation (December 4th),
TVB urgently called together many of their first / second line siu sangs and
fadans to participate in a special Anniversary Awards promotional event to
‘showcase’ their continued dominance in the TV realm.
The biggest
advantage of working under Ricky Wong’s leadership is the ‘unlimited freedom’
that he gives his staff. Not having to
worry about the ‘burdens’ and limitations that other companies face, HKTV is
therefore able to take a more ‘daring’ approach with their series, exploring
themes and topics that HK audiences are not used to seeing. For example:
in the horror-themed series Frightful Century (驚異世紀) – starring Dominic Lam (林嘉華), Leila Tong (唐寧), Noelle Leung (梁小冰), etc. – there
are many gory, bloody, graphic scenes such as someone eating internal organs, a
person’s detached head rolling off of a body, a severed head inside a washing
machine, etc. – the ‘scariness’ factor is through the roof! In the media news –themed series Fiery
News Catalyst (導火新聞線) led by Noelle
Leung and Catherine Chau (周家怡), a pregnant woman jumps off the top of a building after her identity
as the victim of a rape case is revealed by a news agency. Even though the ‘jumping off a building’ concept
is something seen often in TVB series, the biggest difference here is that HKTV
uses more than just one or two shots to ‘show’ the situation occurring – the
‘realistic nature’ in which HKTV filmed that particular scene helped them to
capture the audiences’ ‘horrified reactions’ to the scene. In the trailer for the plastic surgery-themed
medical series Three Sides of Shape Doctors (三面形醫), singer Lesley Chiang (姜麗文) has a kissing
scene with actress Candy Cheung Suet Kan (張雪芹), while in the time travel series Second
Life (第二人生), Wilfred Lau (劉浩龍) and Chao Sin
Wan (趙善桓) also share a
same sex kiss scene – these types of scenes hardly ever appear in HK television
series. Even the 2 ‘heavyweight’ series
– Hakka
Women (客家女人) starring Maggie
Cheung (張可頤) and Prudence
Liew (劉美君), and Age
of Housing Passion (歲月樓情) starring Ha Yu (夏雨), Paw Hee Ching (鮑起靜), and Felix Wong (黃日華) – have a very meticulous style to its filming and storytelling --
with its ‘movie-like’ feel, the trailers definitely give a feeling of
‘freshness’.
HKTV’s series are both ‘spicy’ and
‘non-spicy’
After the
trailers were released, some audiences claimed that HKTV is trying too hard to
break through the barriers of traditional HK television by ‘pushing the
envelope’ and challenging broadcasting industry standards. During an interview with our magazine, HKTV’s
chairman Ricky Wong responded by saying that his station is not trying to ‘push
the limits’ just for the heck of it – instead, they are trying to take all
audience’s tastes into consideration:
“To put it simply: some people
like to eat ‘spicy’ foods and some people don’t! Our plans include 2 different versions of
the series – the version that airs on television will be for those audiences
who can’t take ‘spicy’ things while the web version will be for those who are
able to take the ‘spiciness’. Since
there are fewer restrictions with the Internet, there will be some scenes in
the series that will only be available in the on-line version. We have some staff who actually worked at the
Broadcasting Authority [TN: now called
Communications Authority] before and so are very familiar with broadcasting
regulations and restrictions. Our goal
is to produce programming that reflects everyday life and also gives a
realistic feeling.”
Targeting artists whose contracts expire
in 2014
As for recent
rumors that HKTV is already ‘targeting’ artists whose contracts with TVB expire
at the end of 2013 / beginning of 2014, with quite a few lead actors and
actresses amongst them, Ricky Wong confirmed that was the case, but would not
provide further details: “I won’t reveal
any names – all I can say is that the number of additional artists will range
anywhere from 20 to 30 people.”
Even with the
number of artists that HKTV currently has, there are only a handful – such as
Felix Wong, Maggie Cheung, Frankie Lam, etc. – who can truly be considered ‘first-line’
leading actors/actresses. Towards this,
Ricky Wong explained: “From the beginning,
it has always been harder to find good supporting ‘green leaf’ actors/actresses,
such as Felix Lok (駱應鈞), Samuel Kwok (郭峰), etc. Back during the previous TV wars, Rediffusion Television (RTV)
tried ‘poaching’ many leading actors and actresses, yet in the end, they still
weren’t able to win. Actually, it’s not
difficult to find good-looking young actors / actresses in their 20s – only problem
is that these types of artists are the ones who are also easy to replace. That’s why I feel that it’s more important to
ensure the foundation is strong by ensuring that the ‘pillars’ are steady – this means having a
large number of talented, experienced artists with strong acting skills on
hand. At the same time, you may feel
that some of the artists are relatively unknown with television audiences –
such as award-winning theater actor Poon Chan Leung (潘燦良) and Joman
Chiang (蔣祖曼) for instance –
but that’s because we don’t have our license yet and so we aren’t able to
provide a ‘platform’ to introduce them to TV audiences; however, once we have that ‘platform’, things
will be different, since TV audiences will get the chance to become familiar
with them. Also, in addition to
recruiting experienced artists, we are also in the process of training quite a
few newcomers.” [TN: Many people may not realize
this, since the Media has not focused much on it, but HKTV/CTI does have Acting
Classes (as well as Scriptwriting classes, Directing classes, etc.) just like TVB and ATV do. Many of the younger, lesser known artists
participating in HKTV’s series are graduates of HKTV/CTI’s Acting Classes.]
Thursday, December 6, 2012
My Thoughts on CTI’s ‘Sales Presentation and Name Changing’ Ceremony: “The Birth of a TV Station” – Part 2
*** HOT OFF THE PRESS ****
Wow…I have to say that CTI really is quite an efficient company!! They posted a message on their Facebook page yesterday morning (the day after the Sales Presentation) saying that if that particular post or their Facebook page in general gets 10,000 ‘Likes’, they will immediately post the link(s) to their series / variety show previews (the same ones shown at the Sales Presentation) for everyone to watch.
Well, guess what? The number of ‘Likes’ on CTI’s FB page broke the 10,000 mark this morning and less than an hour later, they already started uploading the links to Youtube! The previews for the variety programs are already available and the ones for the actual series themselves will be up shortly….
Now THAT’S what I call “fast service”!!!
Anyway, here are a few clips to watch for now….more are being uploaded as of this writing, so I’ll update more later on once those clips are available….
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkQPc5V2Ai4&sns=em
Wow…I have to say that CTI really is quite an efficient company!! They posted a message on their Facebook page yesterday morning (the day after the Sales Presentation) saying that if that particular post or their Facebook page in general gets 10,000 ‘Likes’, they will immediately post the link(s) to their series / variety show previews (the same ones shown at the Sales Presentation) for everyone to watch.
Well, guess what? The number of ‘Likes’ on CTI’s FB page broke the 10,000 mark this morning and less than an hour later, they already started uploading the links to Youtube! The previews for the variety programs are already available and the ones for the actual series themselves will be up shortly….
Now THAT’S what I call “fast service”!!!
Anyway, here are a few clips to watch for now….more are being uploaded as of this writing, so I’ll update more later on once those clips are available….
Specialty program preview clip:
Drama series preview clip -- Part 1 of 2
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eufgvNvax0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Drama series preview clip -- Part 2 of 2
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eufgvNvax0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Drama series preview clip -- Part 2 of 2
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkQPc5V2Ai4&sns=em
My Thoughts on CTI’s ‘Sales Presentation and Name Changing’ Ceremony: “The Birth of a TV Station” – Part 1
In
the next couple posts, I will be sharing some of my thoughts on CTI’s recent
‘sales presentation’ event as well as providing a few updates on some of their
upcoming programs.
**Disclaimer: The below is NOT a news article but rather, a ‘recap’ of my thoughts on the sales presentation event that CTI held on 12/4. Other than the information gathered from various news sources and Weibo, the rest of the commentary is strictly my personal opinion.**
Quick Intro
As most of you probably know, CTI’s “Sales Presentation” event officially took place on December 4th. The main purpose of the event of course was to give audiences a preview of the 12 series and variety programs that CTI has to offer (when they finally get their free-to-air license, that is), however it was also a ‘party’ of sorts where CTI’s close to 200 artists (technically more if you count the behind-the-scenes staff) got the chance to dress up in beautiful, grand outfits and have a good time – many of the artists even went on stage to perform and/or introduce their series.
In addition to giving audiences a ‘preview’ of their upcoming programs, the other purpose of the event was for CTI’s chairman Ricky Wong to formally ‘establish’ the television arm of CTI by revealing the station’s ‘official’ name (and logo): Hong Kong Television [and Web] Limited (HKTV) [香港電視網絡] -- hence the ‘slogan’ for the event was “the birth of a TV station”.
Here are a few pics from the event that were uploaded to Weibo throughout the event (more pictures to come in future posts). *All picture credited as listed*
CTI’s New Name: Coincidence or Not?
Before I get into talking about thoughts on the event itself, I have to make a comment about CTI’s new name. The shortened version of the name in English is “Hong Kong Television” (acronym HKTV) and in Chinese it’s “香港電視”.
If you’re one of those people (like me) who has been following HK entertainment and TVB for a long time, you may find that the name “香港電視” sounds familiar…if you do, well don’t worry, you’re not going crazy – the name HAS been used before. By whom? You guessed it: TVB!
Just to give some background for those who might not know….
香港電視 (Hong Kong Television) was the name given to TVB’s official magazine when the station was established back in 1967 (the first issue came out in November 1967 around the same time the station was created). The name was used for nearly 3 decades until May 1997, when TVB decided to ‘separate’ itself from services unrelated to running a TV station and so they sold the magazine to South China Morning Post. However in that same month (May 1997) – a few days after they sold the magazine – TVB rolled out “TVB周刊” (TVB Weekly Magazine), as their ‘official’ company magazine (a decision that still doesn’t make much sense to me to this day – there was probably some other ‘reason’ behind why TVB decided to sell off the rights to the magazine). In any case, 香港電視 officially closed down not after that and the last issue of the magazine came out in August 1997.
Ok, so back to CTI’s name change….given the background of the name “香港電視”, can it be a ‘coincidence’ that Ricky Wong decided to give his new television station this particular name? When Ricky Wong gave his speech on stage, he explained the reason why the station was named in this manner is because they wanted CTI to be ‘the HK people’s TV station’ – so basically, a TV station that could truly represent HK and that HK citizens could be proud of. Ok, sure, I buy that (no, I’m not being sarcastic here) – the explanation sounds valid enough and seems to be in line with the ‘message’ that Mr. Wong has been trying to send all this time. The part I DON’T buy is that there isn’t an ‘ulterior reason’ for Ricky Wong choosing that particular name for his TV station – after all, it CAN’T be a coincidence that the name was formerly linked to TVB, and for a long time too (well, it’s hard for ME to believe, at least).
With all that said, the ‘coincidence’ in the name is probably a ‘moot point’ now, since TVB’s response is that they already gave up that name a long time ago, so anyone is free to use it if they wish. But still….just thought it was interesting enough to bring up….
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My Thoughts on Media Coverage of the Event
Ok, so on to the actual event itself….
The atmosphere actually felt more like an ‘anniversary gala’ than it did a sales presentation -- I hate to compare, but I have to be honest and say that CTI’s sales preso event felt so much more ‘grand’ and ‘exciting’ than TVB’s sales presentation that took place last month (in fact, I actually got bored watching TVB’s sales preso and didn’t even bother ‘following up’ much about it on Weibo….whereas, I didn’t even watch the CTI event yet but already got all “emotional” about it after looking through pictures and reading up on it in the news and on Weibo). Perhaps it’s because majority of the artists who work for CTI now are the veteran, truly talented actors/actresses whom I grew up watching on TV (and in movies) over the past few decades and so I have more of an ‘emotional’ attachment to many of them – which is why when I see them now finally getting the “recognition” and “respect” that they should have gotten long ago, it makes me feel happy inside!
Reading about the event on the various artists' and behind the scenes personnel's Weibos, I could actually 'feel' the comraderie and high morale of those involved and it actually made me feel excited for them! Unfortunately though, the feelings were totally different when it came to reading about the event via the mainstream HK Media....
In the day or so since CTI's event took place, I've read quite a few news articles about the event -- in almost every article, the comparison is made between CTI's sales presentation event and TVB's special 'Anniversary Awards Promotional Event' that took place on the same day (which I don't doubt in the least was put together last minute to 'counter' CTI's event). Honestly, it kind of ticked me off to some extent to read those articles because it seems that the overall Media ‘reaction’ to CTI’s event was relatively 'negative' (actually, the general Media seems to be portraying CTI in a negative light overall lately…but that’s another topic that I’ll save for another day…).
Many of the articles stated something to the effect that even though TVB only gathered 60 artists for their event versus CTI’s higher number of 188 artists, CTI still ‘loses’ by miles because their artists don’t have as much ‘name recognition’ as TVB’s artists – some articles even went so far as to say that TVB had many young, popular, first/second line siu sangs and fa dans in attendance [at their Anniversary Awards promo event] whereas CTI only had a bunch of newbies and ‘old, worthless kelefe’ artists whom younger audiences don’t even know or care about! Um, ok…everyone is subject to their own opinions and if that’s the ‘angle’ that the HK Media wants to present, there’s nothing I can do about it (nor do I care enough about the HK Media to WANT to do anything about it) – I just want to be clear though that the HK Media certainly DOES NOT represent my opinion whatsoever.
Sure, many of the artists working for CTI are not ‘first/second line siu sangs / fa dans’, but they certainly AREN’T ‘old, worthless kelefes’ either!! In my opinion, if I were to pool together the 188 artists that attended the CTI event versus the 60 artists that attended the TVB event, the CTI artists are ‘worth more weight in gold’ to me than the TVB ones because of their acting experience and skill. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that TVB doesn’t have any good artists because they absolutely do have some (though not a lot anymore compared to what they used to have in the 80s / 90s) – in fact, quite a few of my favorite artists whom I’ve been ‘following’ for decades and have the utmost respect and ‘love’ for still work for TVB (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that)….BUT by the same token, that doesn’t mean that CTI or its artists are ‘worthless’ because they don’t have the same level of ‘notoriety’ that TVB’s artists do!
Basically, my point is this: I’m simply trying to ‘refute’ the Media’s (and certain audiences’) claim that TVB is ‘better’ because they have more ‘popular, widely recognized’ artists who are in the 1st/2nd line siu sang / fadan position. To me, ‘popularity’ and ‘position’ don’t matter one single bit – it’s the quality that counts! As I’ve said many times before, I would much rather watch a series where the cast consists mostly of older, ‘less popular’ 2nd / 3rd/4th line artists who have acting talent and who deliver solid, quality performances rather than a series consisting of young, ‘popular’ 1st/2nd line artists who can’t act to save their lives (and can’t speak proper Cantonese to save their lives either!). To me, true ‘worth’ as an actor / actress is determined by how good the acting is and the consistency of it – NOT how much ‘news’ an artist is able to generate or how much money he/she is able to make (for the company or for themselves).
The lesson here: Be careful which Media sources you choose to read AND take what you read with 'a grain of salt' because no matter how 'reputable' or 'impartial' a Media outlet claims to be, there will always be bias of some type....it's pretty much unavoidable...
TO BE CONTINUED.....
**Disclaimer: The below is NOT a news article but rather, a ‘recap’ of my thoughts on the sales presentation event that CTI held on 12/4. Other than the information gathered from various news sources and Weibo, the rest of the commentary is strictly my personal opinion.**
Quick Intro
As most of you probably know, CTI’s “Sales Presentation” event officially took place on December 4th. The main purpose of the event of course was to give audiences a preview of the 12 series and variety programs that CTI has to offer (when they finally get their free-to-air license, that is), however it was also a ‘party’ of sorts where CTI’s close to 200 artists (technically more if you count the behind-the-scenes staff) got the chance to dress up in beautiful, grand outfits and have a good time – many of the artists even went on stage to perform and/or introduce their series.
In addition to giving audiences a ‘preview’ of their upcoming programs, the other purpose of the event was for CTI’s chairman Ricky Wong to formally ‘establish’ the television arm of CTI by revealing the station’s ‘official’ name (and logo): Hong Kong Television [and Web] Limited (HKTV) [香港電視網絡] -- hence the ‘slogan’ for the event was “the birth of a TV station”.
Here are a few pics from the event that were uploaded to Weibo throughout the event (more pictures to come in future posts). *All picture credited as listed*
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| CTI's new name and logo |
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| CTI group picture (all artists and behind the scenes staff) |
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| List of CTI's TV series and variety programs |
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| Partial poster spread setup showcasing CTI's series |
CTI’s New Name: Coincidence or Not?
Before I get into talking about thoughts on the event itself, I have to make a comment about CTI’s new name. The shortened version of the name in English is “Hong Kong Television” (acronym HKTV) and in Chinese it’s “香港電視”.
If you’re one of those people (like me) who has been following HK entertainment and TVB for a long time, you may find that the name “香港電視” sounds familiar…if you do, well don’t worry, you’re not going crazy – the name HAS been used before. By whom? You guessed it: TVB!
Just to give some background for those who might not know….
香港電視 (Hong Kong Television) was the name given to TVB’s official magazine when the station was established back in 1967 (the first issue came out in November 1967 around the same time the station was created). The name was used for nearly 3 decades until May 1997, when TVB decided to ‘separate’ itself from services unrelated to running a TV station and so they sold the magazine to South China Morning Post. However in that same month (May 1997) – a few days after they sold the magazine – TVB rolled out “TVB周刊” (TVB Weekly Magazine), as their ‘official’ company magazine (a decision that still doesn’t make much sense to me to this day – there was probably some other ‘reason’ behind why TVB decided to sell off the rights to the magazine). In any case, 香港電視 officially closed down not after that and the last issue of the magazine came out in August 1997.
Ok, so back to CTI’s name change….given the background of the name “香港電視”, can it be a ‘coincidence’ that Ricky Wong decided to give his new television station this particular name? When Ricky Wong gave his speech on stage, he explained the reason why the station was named in this manner is because they wanted CTI to be ‘the HK people’s TV station’ – so basically, a TV station that could truly represent HK and that HK citizens could be proud of. Ok, sure, I buy that (no, I’m not being sarcastic here) – the explanation sounds valid enough and seems to be in line with the ‘message’ that Mr. Wong has been trying to send all this time. The part I DON’T buy is that there isn’t an ‘ulterior reason’ for Ricky Wong choosing that particular name for his TV station – after all, it CAN’T be a coincidence that the name was formerly linked to TVB, and for a long time too (well, it’s hard for ME to believe, at least).
With all that said, the ‘coincidence’ in the name is probably a ‘moot point’ now, since TVB’s response is that they already gave up that name a long time ago, so anyone is free to use it if they wish. But still….just thought it was interesting enough to bring up….
.****.
My Thoughts on Media Coverage of the Event
Ok, so on to the actual event itself….
The atmosphere actually felt more like an ‘anniversary gala’ than it did a sales presentation -- I hate to compare, but I have to be honest and say that CTI’s sales preso event felt so much more ‘grand’ and ‘exciting’ than TVB’s sales presentation that took place last month (in fact, I actually got bored watching TVB’s sales preso and didn’t even bother ‘following up’ much about it on Weibo….whereas, I didn’t even watch the CTI event yet but already got all “emotional” about it after looking through pictures and reading up on it in the news and on Weibo). Perhaps it’s because majority of the artists who work for CTI now are the veteran, truly talented actors/actresses whom I grew up watching on TV (and in movies) over the past few decades and so I have more of an ‘emotional’ attachment to many of them – which is why when I see them now finally getting the “recognition” and “respect” that they should have gotten long ago, it makes me feel happy inside!
Reading about the event on the various artists' and behind the scenes personnel's Weibos, I could actually 'feel' the comraderie and high morale of those involved and it actually made me feel excited for them! Unfortunately though, the feelings were totally different when it came to reading about the event via the mainstream HK Media....
In the day or so since CTI's event took place, I've read quite a few news articles about the event -- in almost every article, the comparison is made between CTI's sales presentation event and TVB's special 'Anniversary Awards Promotional Event' that took place on the same day (which I don't doubt in the least was put together last minute to 'counter' CTI's event). Honestly, it kind of ticked me off to some extent to read those articles because it seems that the overall Media ‘reaction’ to CTI’s event was relatively 'negative' (actually, the general Media seems to be portraying CTI in a negative light overall lately…but that’s another topic that I’ll save for another day…).
Many of the articles stated something to the effect that even though TVB only gathered 60 artists for their event versus CTI’s higher number of 188 artists, CTI still ‘loses’ by miles because their artists don’t have as much ‘name recognition’ as TVB’s artists – some articles even went so far as to say that TVB had many young, popular, first/second line siu sangs and fa dans in attendance [at their Anniversary Awards promo event] whereas CTI only had a bunch of newbies and ‘old, worthless kelefe’ artists whom younger audiences don’t even know or care about! Um, ok…everyone is subject to their own opinions and if that’s the ‘angle’ that the HK Media wants to present, there’s nothing I can do about it (nor do I care enough about the HK Media to WANT to do anything about it) – I just want to be clear though that the HK Media certainly DOES NOT represent my opinion whatsoever.
Sure, many of the artists working for CTI are not ‘first/second line siu sangs / fa dans’, but they certainly AREN’T ‘old, worthless kelefes’ either!! In my opinion, if I were to pool together the 188 artists that attended the CTI event versus the 60 artists that attended the TVB event, the CTI artists are ‘worth more weight in gold’ to me than the TVB ones because of their acting experience and skill. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that TVB doesn’t have any good artists because they absolutely do have some (though not a lot anymore compared to what they used to have in the 80s / 90s) – in fact, quite a few of my favorite artists whom I’ve been ‘following’ for decades and have the utmost respect and ‘love’ for still work for TVB (and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that)….BUT by the same token, that doesn’t mean that CTI or its artists are ‘worthless’ because they don’t have the same level of ‘notoriety’ that TVB’s artists do!
Basically, my point is this: I’m simply trying to ‘refute’ the Media’s (and certain audiences’) claim that TVB is ‘better’ because they have more ‘popular, widely recognized’ artists who are in the 1st/2nd line siu sang / fadan position. To me, ‘popularity’ and ‘position’ don’t matter one single bit – it’s the quality that counts! As I’ve said many times before, I would much rather watch a series where the cast consists mostly of older, ‘less popular’ 2nd / 3rd/4th line artists who have acting talent and who deliver solid, quality performances rather than a series consisting of young, ‘popular’ 1st/2nd line artists who can’t act to save their lives (and can’t speak proper Cantonese to save their lives either!). To me, true ‘worth’ as an actor / actress is determined by how good the acting is and the consistency of it – NOT how much ‘news’ an artist is able to generate or how much money he/she is able to make (for the company or for themselves).
The lesson here: Be careful which Media sources you choose to read AND take what you read with 'a grain of salt' because no matter how 'reputable' or 'impartial' a Media outlet claims to be, there will always be bias of some type....it's pretty much unavoidable...
TO BE CONTINUED.....
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!!!
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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."
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
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.
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.
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