This is an
interview that Ricky Wong actually did back on 3/29 – two days after he made
the official announcement about HKTV giving up on getting a free-to-air TV
license and also that they are withdrawing from the television business. (In case anyone missed that announcement, you can read about it here.)
Due to time
constraints on my side, I wasn’t able to recap the interview until recently so
this is only being posted now, nearly a month later. My apologies for the delay but part of it too
was that I wanted to take my time with the recap on this one, since this will
likely be one of the last times that HKTV is discussed in the capacity of a “TV
station," so in a sense, this is my "last hurrah" for HKTV (as we knew it at least).
Note that for
this post, instead of commenting on the interview before or after the recap, I
decided to incorporate my commentary throughout the interview instead. My comments are the ones that say ‘TN’ inside the brackets (which I highlighted in BLUE below). For those who don't want to read my commentary (and I know there are some out there who don't, which I'm fine with), just skip all the sections in BLUE).
Enjoy and feel free
to comment below!
***
CRHK radio program:
On A Clear
Day (在晴朗的一天出發)
Hosts: Stephen Chan (陳志雲), Chan Chung (陳聰), Yeung Lok San (楊樂笙)
Guest: Ricky Wong (王維基)
Date of broadcast: 03/29/18
PART 1:
-
Stephen
Chan kicked off the interview with a pretty clever introduction: “Hong Kong is a place that’s very
unique: our pineapple buns have no pineapple
in them, our ‘chicken tail’ (cocktail) buns have no chicken tails in them, and
our HKTV is actually not a television station!
We have with us today HKTV’s chairman Ricky Wong.” [TN: I actually chuckled at that intro, lol.]
-
So with
HKTV’s official announcement, Stephen asked Ricky to share what his feelings
are at this moment – does he feel as though a huge burden has finally been
lifted? When did he decide that he
finally had to “wake up” from this television dream?
o Ricky Wong said that they started really
thinking about it last year (2017), as there are different shareholders they
need to answer to within the company, plus the auditors were starting to ask
them as well what the plans were.
o This is why they made the announcement
earlier in the year that they had to re-assess the situation with the company
and decide whether they will continue on the television path.
o True to their word, they did an internal
re-assessment and looked at the following factors: external as well as business environment
(landscape of television environment currently – for example, HK already has 3
free-to-air TV stations now), audiences’ tastes and choices, HKTV’s own
internal resources, etc. – after reviewing all of these factors, they came to
the conclusion that the best option was to withdraw.
-
Stephen
asked if Ricky could clarify something for him, as last time the former
Secretary for Commerce and Development Greg So (蘇錦樑) [TN: Who was famously given the undesirable task of announcing the government's decision to deny HKTV's license] went on their radio program and when asked
about HKTV’s license application, Greg So claimed that there were still some
“answers” that they were waiting for from Ricky Wong. “Is it true that he asked you (Ricky)
something but you didn’t answer him or was there nothing worth answering in the
first place?”
o Ricky said: "I will only say one thing – there was nothing more to answer." He said that since they have made the
decision to withdraw, he doesn’t want to dwell on the back and forth in terms
of ‘did they truly answer’ or ‘did they not answer’.
o Ricky said that he actually DID answer
whatever it was that Greg So was asking, it’s just that it probably wasn’t the
answer they were looking for.
o To illustrate his point of what went down
between him and Greg So, Ricky gave the following example: Let’s say that you are applying for a job at
a certain company. You already wrote a
letter 8 years ago expressing interest in the position, however instead of
replying back with a request for interview, the company keeps asking you
various questions – where did you graduate from? Do you have a degree? What type of work experience do you have? –
you answer these questions, but then the company asks the same questions again,
except in a different way. You answer
them again. Then they ask you – so now
that 8 years have passed, has anything changed with you? After you answer them, they keep cycling
through the same questions. 2 years
later – so another 2 years have passed, has anything changed with you? The company could keep delaying it by
continuing to ask every couple months / years if anything has changed. At this point, you are fed up and say –
forget it, what’s the point of continuing to answer these types of questions?
No use in continuing to delay things…
-
Stephen
then asked about the change in government and what effect that had. He said Ricky mentioned in his announcement
about waiting just short of a decade already -- some citizens feel that HKTV
already waited 8 years, why not continue to wait out another 2 years (to round
out the decade) because with the change in government, perhaps there would be a
“turning point”?
o Ricky very frankly answered that he doesn’t
see any “turning point.” To clarify, he
didn’t feel that there would be any “turning point” specifically related to
their application for a license.
o He said that they can’t stay in a “holding
pattern” indefinitely – it has to end at some point. Ok, so even if they were to wait – let’s fast
forward to 2 years later, waited another 2 years, but still no license…could
then say why not wait 2 more years?
Another 12 years? 15 years?
Something that has a start needs to have an ending point…
-
Stephen
then asked – so then in your (HKTV’s) assessment, even with the change in
government, did you guys feel that the chance of getting a license was still
very slim? Was this one of the things you
took into consideration when you decided to withdraw?
o Ricky answered yes, we felt that when it
came to being approved for a license, we didn’t see much chance that it would
happen.
o Stephen said that this thought is very
different from what most ordinary citizens think – they feel that HKTV wasn’t
able to get their license because of “one particular man” [previous Chief
Executive Leung Chun Ying], but now that this man is out of the picture, the
obstacle shouldn’t be as great right?
That’s not what you guys thought as well?
§ Ricky replied that he and his team
considered many things when they made their decision to withdraw – i.e.
probability of getting a license, internal resources (many of the people who
worked for them previously -- whether artists, scriptwriters, directors, etc.
-- had come from “big brother station” (TVB) and after HKTV was denied a
license, some of these people already returned to that station, but an even
bigger portion decided to go try their luck in Mainland), business environment,
audiences tastes / habits – for example, very few audiences actually still sit
in front of a television set to watch TV.)
§ In coming to their decision, they had to
look at the big picture, look at all factors, didn’t want to just dwell on the
government being to blame or whatnot.
§ Basically, the timing has passed already and
the landscape has changed too much.
[TN: At this point in
the interview, I couldn’t help thinking how funny it was that EVERY SINGLE
THING Ricky Wong had just said in the above sections (prospects of getting a
license under the new government still dim, entire television landscape had
changed, etc.) were the EXACT same things I’ve said in various discussion
forums as well as in my own blog over the past 4 years. While I must admit that it does feel good to
be right, I will be honest and say that I was really hoping to be wrong this
time around because of how much I supported HKTV as a viable alternative to
TVB…]
-
Stephen
then asked Ricky the 64 million dollar question – Looking back now, in
hindsight, do you feel that the government denying you a license 4 years ago
was actually a blessing in disguise?
Like you had said back then, you firmly believed that a free-to-air
license was necessary in order to operate. So in other words, with all the
changes in the industry currently, maybe you should consider yourself lucky
that you didn’t get a license…
o Ricky’s response: that type of thinking is
wrong, absolutely wrong. He still deeply
believes that if HKTV had been granted a license back then, the subsequent 4
years would’ve been 4 of the most glorious / brilliant years that the HK
television industry has seen in decades.
o The reason he feels this way – back then, it
wasn’t just him fighting the battle alone.
He had several hundred like-minded employees standing with him,
supporting the same cause. Also there
were many advertisers who had pledged their support for HKTV as well as support
from audiences. Many of the younger
folks in society were really motivated by what HKTV was able to do and had
expressed that they wanted to be part of it.
He said that if HKTV had gotten the license, the past 4 years would’ve
been a very memorable 4 years.
-
Stephen
then went on to say – so it’s the government’s fault then? We should have the government to thank for
not getting those glorious 4 years?
o Ricky’s response [TN: I
noticed there was a slight pause, so it seemed to me that Ricky was trying to
think of the best way to put it without offending certain powers that be in
government…] – “Well, the government is very big….but, uh, let’s not talk
about the government…” to which Stephen said “but it’s the truth…if the
government had granted the license back then, the industry would’ve seen major change
(the ‘earth-shattering’ / major shakeup type of change)” which Ricky then
responded “I would think so…”
-
Ricky
then went on to clarify what he meant by major change – back then, what was
most important wasn’t that investors were willing to throw a lot of money into
the business – rather, what was important was that they [HKTV] had a group of
passionate people with heart who all had the same goal of wanting to make the
industry better…
o Weren’t just talking about a few people – it
was several hundred artists, 60-70 scriptwriters, 60 directors, around 600 to
700 people total – all people whom he felt were the industry’s brightest,
people who were most willing to change for the better, who were most willing to
try new things, embrace change…
o Looking at the series they produced, though
can’t say they were THE BEST, since compared to Hollywood, American series do
surpass them, but for HK series, it was a huge change, very different from
typical HK fare, whether from subject matter, creativity, production
perspectives…
o Ricky said that due to all this, if you ask
him what his feelings are toward not getting a license, of course he will feel
disappointed [TN: implied because everyone’s efforts went to
waste].
-
So is
there special meaning behind having Fantastic Television air the series “To Be
or Not To Be” as the first series of yours on their station?
o Ricky said that he actually wasn’t the one
who chose that series – Fantastic TV chose it.
He said they laid the 200+ hours of programming out in front of them and
they chose what they wanted.
o Stephen asked are they airing the series for
free, to which Ricky replied that they do have a “commercial arrangement” with
them but he can’t disclose any further details since it’s a business
transaction.
o Ricky said that if it were up to him, he
would’ve actually preferred they air either “The Borderline” or “The Menu”
first.
o Stephen asked if it would only be 1 series,
to which Ricky said no, it’s ALL of the series – he confirmed that the
arrangement was for all series to air on Fantastic TV, though in what order he
doesn’t know.
-
Now
that the announcement has been made, has Ricky heard from any of his former
staff what their thoughts / feelings are toward this news?
o Ricky said that yesterday (3/28), a few of
his former colleagues / staff messaged him on WhatsApp. He said his first reaction was to apologize
to those former staff.
o He said the reason why he decided to arrange
for their series to air on Fantastic TV is because he feels the cast and crew
put in so much heart and effort back then to make those series, even knowing he
didn’t have a license, they still took such a huge risk to work for him – a few
people gave up the “safe harbor” they’d had for 10, 20 years and jumped ship
over to their station to help them – he felt he has the obligation to fulfill
the promise he made to them that those series will get the chance to air on a free-to-air
television station. He believes that any
producer would want that for their staff and their series.
o When he apologized, his colleagues told him
that they actually wanted to thank him because they truly did learn a lot and the
experience gave them the chance to see the potential that was out there
o Some of them said that if it wasn’t for Ricky
and HKTV, they wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities they currently have
(whether filming in Mainland or other opportunities in HK).
o RW also said that many of the cast and crew
for “big brother” station’s current series were the same ones who had worked at
HKTV previously….he also alluded to how the ones who returned to the “big
brother” station were able to apply what they learned and change the way some
of their series were made…
[TN: Aha! I
had said this exact same thing in discussions with other fellow HKTV supporters,
as I had noticed the past 2 years especially how much “copying” TVB had done of
previous HKTV series / ideas / concepts, both directly and indirectly. Here’s an excerpt of a comment I had written
to one of the blog posts I wrote about HKTV:
I get so ticked off every time I think about TVB
"copying" HKTV or those who left and went back taking what they
learned and applying it. But at least with the latter, they were honest about
applying what they learned so I can't really fault them too much… the ones that
make my blood boil are the obvious copies but no acknowledgment whatsoever (i.e.
Law Dis-order copying The Election, Come with Me copying Sexpedia, Stealing
Seconds copying Doom+5, Blue Veins copying Love in Time, Big White Duel copying
Hidden Faces, Our Unwinding Ethos copying Karma, that new Chan Bo Wah series
copying Incredible Mama..). Of course we all know My Unfair Lady copied To Be
or Not To Be and Line Walker 2 copied Borderline but at least with both those
instances, we already knew from the producers (Chu King Kei and So Man Chung)
that they would do so, since they publicly acknowledged that they were going to
apply what they learned from HKTV.
In addition to the above, I recently learned that the new
Flying Tigers series from Shaw Brothers (TVB’s movie arm) supposedly has some
car chase scenes reminiscent of the ones that were done in The Menu’s opening
sequence…]
-
How
about on opposite end? Were there any
colleagues who blamed you (Ricky)?
o Ricky said that he is sure there are, but
they were all polite enough not to say it directly to him. He says the ones who reached out to him were
likely the ones who understood him and how he was feeling.
-
How
about citizens? Did any citizens /
audiences reach out?
o Ricky said he didn’t hear back from any
audiences and asked if they would be having a phone-in session later (Stephen took
the opportunity to reiterate the phone number that listeners should call).
-
The
hosts then asked Ricky if there was anything in particular he wanted to say to
HK audiences.
o Ricky’s message to audiences: HK people can have a lot of different goals,
different dreams. HK entertainment and culture are no doubt a huge part of those
dreams – makes sense, as HK entertainment, whether movies, music, or television,
did have its glory days back in previous decades such as 70s, 80s. However, keep in mind that in addition to
entertainment, HK is also known for other things, such as being a shopping
paradise for example. A lot of people ask Ricky
(friends, reporters whom he has known for 20+ years) why hasn’t he retired yet,
as he surely has made enough money to be able to just sit back and enjoy it now
– short answer: it’s because of HKTV Mall. He said
that HK has already “lost” much of its entertainment (music, movie, television
industries are all not what they used to be)…if they were to lose shopping paradise as well,
it would be a disaster.
o People’s habits change along with their
tastes. Many people are looking more and
more to doing their shopping online…of course, this won’t completely replace
physical stores 100%, but currently HK lacks their own e-commerce
option…imagine if 3 to 5 years from now, more and more young people go online
to purchase majority of their goods and the only options they have are Mainland
websites, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, U.S., etc.
HK people will start looking to overseas options for their shopping
needs which would render HK shopping paradise obsolete and in turn would do
irreparable harm to HK’s economy…
o One of the missions of his current
e-commerce project is to persuade more retailers to go online route with their
businesses.
o Stephen said that when it comes to e-commerce, HK market is so small
though, won’t that affect things? Ricky’s
response – yes, but HK has to start somewhere even if it’s starting small. Need to build up HK first, build it into a
strong site, well-known site, once have name recognition, then others
(overseas) would be more willing to purchase from them.
o He said they are starting to see the effects
now --- for example, he’s had some Mainlanders buy stuff at their stores because
they recognize their name and know they are quality.
o Ricky also compared the whole venture to TV
series -- need to build up your own station first, build name recognition,
build up local audiences, once you have that, then others will notice you…if
you can’t even do your own stuff well, how do you expect others (overseas) to
purchase from you?
-
The
hosts then asked Ricky – their free-to-air TV “project” lasted 8 years….how much
time are they planning to give to this e-commerce venture? Ricky’s response as follows:
o E-commerce is very complicated, especially
in HK
o Already, they’ve made some changes in
automation to improve efficiency – in the past, when they received an order,
they would have staff running around in a 100,000 sq ft warehouse looking for each
product on the list – this was a very manual process that of course wasted a
lot of time and money. Starting in
March, they invested in automation where the staff don’t need to go hunt down
the products anymore – the machines (robots?) will look for the product and
bring it to them once located.
o Even this is complicated because HK doesn’t
have anyone who knows about these tools / machines or understands how to
operate them (they had a lot of difficulty trying to hire engineers and
technicians in HK who were familiar enough with these tools to even be able to
install them). Aside from the HK
airport, HKTV is only the 2nd organization to utilize these machines
in HK…there are currently no offices for this company in HK (all offices are in
Shenzhen, Shanghai, Singapore). As a
result, they (HKTV) had to hire people from China and Singapore to go over to
their facility to install the machines.
Ricky said he couldn’t believe how behind HK was in technology but at
the same time, he also sees this as an opportunity – an opportunity for him to
experiment with this and bring this to HK consumers, bring something good to
HK.
o They want to recruit more students / young
people so that these future generations can have a better understanding of
technology, engineering and hopefully utilize this information for the betterment of HK.
[TN: These lasts 2 segments prove that Ricky Wong
is ever the consummate businessman but also shows how smart he is. I’ve worked in the corporate business world for
over 20 years myself so I can definitely relate to what Ricky is saying in
terms of the business aspect and the importance of automation, innovation,
etc. His thought process on e-commerce
makes a lot of sense as well and shows that his business acumen is razor sharp! I honestly feel that it was a wise choice for Ricky
to abandon the TV station concept and instead go back to what he does best – taking something that others haven't done before in that market and turning it into a successful business!]
-
In the
last segment (to part 1), the hosts asked Ricky about HKTV mall initially being
established to “supplement” the TV side of things. Or was it the other way around?
o RW clarified that back when they purchased their mobile license, one of the biggest differences with that license from the free-to-air
TV one was that it allowed for 24 hour advertising. 5 years ago, they analyzed the model in Korea
– they have 4 TV stations that are dedicated exclusively to “TV shopping” [TN: kind of like
Home Shopping Network that we have here in the U.S.]…those 4
stations at that time were already doing 100,000,000,000 HKD worth of business,
which was huge. Ricky wanted to bring
this model to HK, whether in the form of TV shopping like Korea did or turn it
into online/e-commerce route – so basically to answer the question, the “shopping”
and “television” components were meant to complement each other. Now
there is only the “shopping” component left -- is it less effective then? From what they can see, so far seems to be
working….at the very least, when they didn’t get their license, they had an
alternative path they could follow.
*** The above is recap of part 1 only. Stay tuned for recap of Part 2, as there are quite a few interesting things that Ricky Wong talks about there (plus the audience call-in section, which was quite enlightening). I am
working on and should hopefully be posted up within the next day or two.***
