TVB Artists Become Millionaires! Bosco Wong’s Fees Catch Up with Kevin Cheng
Numerous TVB artists, Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎), Charmaine Sheh (馬浚偉), Myolie Wu (胡杏兒), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), Steven Ma (馬浚偉), and Ada Choi (蔡少芬) attended the Shanghai TV Festival yesterday. Many TVB artists were extremely popular in mainland China, earning millions by filming in local productions. Bosco Wong hinted that he was earning nearly $200,000 Yuan per television episode in China, which was nearly at TV King, Kevin Cheng’s market price!
Charmaine Sheh’s Awesome Earning Power
The income earned from filming 1 to 2 dramas allowed popular artists to purchase a luxury home. Former TVB #1 Sister, Charmaine Sheh’s earning power was astounding. Promoting mainland drama, Marrying into a Wealthy Family <嫁入豪門> at the Shanghai Television Festival yesterday, Charmaine said that she was happy that her former colleagues were able to earn increased incomes. Asked whether she had already purchased a luxury home, Charmaine said, “It depends on each person’s wants!” Asked how many dramas she had to film to afford a luxury home, she said, “One drama is sufficient!”
Kevin Cheng and Charmaine Sheh Draw Lines From Each Other
Tabloids romantically linked Charmaine Sheh with Kevin Cheng earlier this year, sprouting on old rumors that they had dated secretly in 2008. The pair was often asked if they had met with each other for meals. At the event yesterday, Charmaine stated that she was currently single.
Despite an unclear romantic past, it was apparent that Charmaine and Kevin wished to draw clear boundaries from each other. Kevin Cheng said, “My dreams are currently focused on the mainland China market. I do not have a girlfriend yet.” Asked whether he had met Charmaine for dinner, Kevin said, “No, it’s best to avoid gossip!”
Bosco Wong Earning as Much as Kevin Cheng
Bosco Wong’s recognition level increased dramatically in mainland China this year. After the broadcast of TV drama, Racecourse <跑马场>– in which Bosco starred with girlfriend Myolie Wu–he is currently filming The Woman Above the Bread Tree <麵包樹上的女人> with a signficant salary raise. Asked whether he was earning TV King, Kevin Cheng’s rate of $200,000 Yuan per episode, Bosco smiled, “It’s close, but my rate is not as high as Kevin’s fee!”
Upon learning Bosco’s new earning power, Kevin Cheng teased, “Sui jai is earning that much? He has to treat dinner then!” Meanwhile TVB executive, Virginia Lok (樂易玲) revealed that Kevin had real estate dreams to buy three properties: one for his mother, himself, and his future son!
Myolie Wu and Steven Ma’s Incredible Wealth
Entering the 2012 Forbes China Celebrity 100 list earlier based on her income and exposure rate, Myolie Wu has become TVB’s most bankable actress this year. She indicated that she was able to purchase a luxury home after filming two mainland dramas, which may still be one step behind Charmaine Sheh’s market value.
Asked whether she will live with Bosco Wong in a new house purchase, Myolie laughed that she will live with her elder sister and 8 cats. She joked, “Maybe he (Bosco) will not get married with me!”
After hearing Myolie and Charmaine’s responses, Steven Ma quipped that he would be able to afford purchasing a luxury home after filming one-and-half mainland drama.
No doubt that TVB artists have been offered incredible opportunities in the mainland China market in recent years. Ada Choi’s popularity also surged after appearing in Qing palace series, Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan <甄環傳>. She smiled discretely when prompted whether she had earned a 7 figure sum for a recent baby formula ad endorsement.
Source: Oriental Daily
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Jayne: The difference between the haves and have-nots at TVB are still wide. Ron Ng is allegedly still renting his house and has not become a house owner yet. Ron was even more heavily promoted than Bosco at the beginning of his career, but their financial disparity has widened in recent years.
20k rmb per episode isn’t a lot. did he mean 200k? i heard kevin was getting 250,000 rmb per episode.
Anoninhk,
I made the correction. It should be 200,000 instead otherwise it would be difficult to become a millionaire. 🙂
How much does $200,000 Yuan equivalent to US currency?
It’s nice that Kevin wants to buy 3 houses: 1 for himself, 1 for his mom, and 1 for his son. How’s about his daughter?
Thanks.
RMB 200,000 = US$ 31,403
CHEAP!
Of course if you compare to what American actors earn then that is not much. However, for the Asian market then that is not bad at all. Also, compared to normal citizens then that is definitely a lot. I think it just depends on who you compare to.
US$31,000/episode usually 30 or more episode series taking 3 months or so to complete, plus humane working hours and conditions.
Filmed every episode and within 3 or 4 months, Bosco can earn as much as 910,000 USD, definitely not a small change to scoff at.
And according to this news report, China producers are now favoring tvb artists over the extremely expensive mainland actors. 内地演员片酬飞涨 制作方偏爱TVB艺人
http://ent.sina.com.cn/v/m/2012-06-13/05113655958.shtml
It is indeed gratifying for tvb fans to read just how well reportedly some TVB artists are doing in mainland market.
Gist: Mainland tv production companies considered TVB artists to be more cost-effective, professional, and hard-working; and compare to their counterpart mainland artists, less problematic, moreover TVB artists are ready grists for rumor mills therefore can be used to hype up their series. Because of the rapidly escalating fees of mainland elite artists, the production companies now favor tvb artists.
Yesterday, Shanghai 18th TV Festival entered its 2nd day. The theme activities commenced with the successive opening of TV program trade show, and the Magnolia Forum. The hot topic of the forum this year is the skyrocketing fees of the mainland elite artists that had the film production companies and buyers alike lamenting. Yesterday the tv programs trade shows revealed the vicious cycle -because smaller film production companies cannot afford the artists’ astronomical fees in proportion to their production costs, under pressure they elected to leave the television circle. And video websites, in an effort to circumvent the rising royalties to series, opted to buy the broadcasting rights as a network group or as re-runs syndication. However, the astronomical mainland artists fees proved to be a boon for TVB artists. Yesterday the trade show exhibited the TVB troop as stars ‘lighting up’ the festival.
To counter the high fees of mainland artists, many production companies have begun using the cheaper but high quality TVB artists, this phenomenon is especially obvious in this Shanghai TV Festival.
Yesterday in the trade show, the presence of TVB artists was pervasive. There were Myolie Wu and Charmaine Sheh, Kevin Cheng, Bobby Au Yeung, Bosco Wong, and Steven Ma, plus TVB’s own War and Beauty II cast members: Moses Chan, Ada Choi, all came to attend to their respective booths..giving a wrong impression that Shanghai TV Festival had become TVB “Anniversary Gala”.
They also have to pay tax and all too… I wonder what the tax rate in Hk and China are??
Tax isn’t that high 7-13%, depending what range you are in. Plus there are things you can writ of as an artist, so that helps.
Claimine,
Thank you for your quick translation. Hhee indeed TVB artists are secret millionaires. No exaggeration in the title lol!
Not only the tax but TVB also takes some money from their artists in the form of management fee. These fees took a big hole in the pocket of the artists, too.
Apart from paying Income Tax, the major leakage is to the entire food chain – Managers, Spin Doctors, Assistants, Parasites and etc
yeh TVB take prolly a large percentage – say 40%? then you gotta minus expenses such as assistants, makeup artists, clothes, transport, accommodation, bits and pieces… the artist won’t get the whole thing.
I personally think Bosco is more talented than Kevin (even though Kevin is better looking) so I’m glad his pay is reflecting that.
I’m suprised that Ron is still renting. He was definitely given many opportunities. Maybe he’s a big spender?
Maybe Viann took it all or Ron spent it all on her? I think that Ron should be able to buy his own place if he saved well by now. But yea, I have a feeling that he is a big spender and maybe spent it more on cars and stuff instead of houses??
Yeah prolly bc the doll has very high maintenance cost, hehe.
I suppose he will be fine as long as he doesn’t gamble away his money.
Ron’s not very good at saving money, even before dating Viann. Indeed, if Ron was a saver the first place, he’d be a lot richer than what Bosco is now.
Maybe he is saving some money for the marriage :P. Some ppl like to live in renting house to save money for other things in life.
i hope Ron is saving and not splurge on his gf viann
anyway where did the pic above come from? its a rare good pic of bosco. Usually he look like an alien! ROFL like in TCW concert. scary!
Vivien,
” its a rare good pic of bosco.”
Maybe one day your heart might even soften for Bosco. Your eyes seem to have started lah.
Ron is not that smart to save his ass.
Also, Ron is not endorsing as much brands/products as his peers. One cannot depend on filming fees alone.
I would like to believe that he is saving up money to purchase his own house, and hopefully not another luxury sport car.
Vivien,
Answer: 跑马场(Racecourse)
@sehseh: How many endorser works Ron is doing now? Long time ago he has Puma, is it expired or continued?
@Fox,
That’s the problem… I couldn’t think of one. When the fiasco with Viann started, he has just endorse a drink brand right? I don’t think Puma is still his endorser.
A drink? Why I haven’t heard about this? I only can rmb that Ron did for Puma and a brand of cosmetic (he did a TVA for this).
He is endorsing for a beer brand and perhaps that’s why he started to develop a beer belly due to the high consumption. Poor Ron was only trying to be professional, LOL.
i dont think ron is being promoted anymore but he still gets alot of work and he doesnt earn as much as bosco of course but he shouldnt have a problem in being a home owner after being in the industry for all these year maybe he just wasnt interested in being a home owner until now
he might invested in Vianne instead of a home lol jk
it can be. Viann need high maintenance for her plastic assets LOL
oh yeh plastic surg is very expensive
Not just plastic surgery since she already got it all done, but maintaining it is what may be burning a hole in Ron’s pocket. I guess that is another reason why it is still better to be natural.
Since Ron does film in mainland as well, he should have been able to afford his own luxury home, even if his fees do not approach those of Kevin, but he did win best actor there? However, Ron isn’t the brightest, so he probably went and splurge on some new car instead.
Nope, Ron with I-cable (a HK cable TV station), not in China. He has another award of Favourite TV Actor with Northern TV, China.
his money may went to Viann. Poor Ron.
He is losing brain cells.
Viann also makes a lot of money herself, perhaps more than Ron. However nobody knows if they are also practicing the typical:
“His money, her money. Her money, her money”
Asian breeding? 😛
Easy. For Viann and Ron, it is his money is HIS money but only well spent if spent on MEEEE sort of mentality? Or everytime she pulls a tantrum he flies to see her and buys her stuff? Consider the carbon footprint…
Before dating Viann, he still lives in a renting house :P.
ron might be saving for a big house afterall or have some secret business
Viann isn’t good enough for Ron. Ron deserved better than this filthy PS girl
LMAO, not good enough for him, you know better than him ah~? He chooses someone that he thinks as the best for him.
If the assumption that ah Ron isn’t the brightest holds true (which I think is true) he should at least find a gf that is smarter than him to increase the average IQ base for his future kids, LOL.
Ok, now im not sure if Ron is smarter than her and vice versa 🙂
Ron was highly promoted but his fee isn’t too high, even in the top of his career (2006-2007). The list of artists’ fee in 2008 revealed last time shows that Ron’s fee is just in the middle, even lower than his peers. So it isn’t a surprise for Ron to not earn much. Promotion of TVB dun equal to high fee at all.
So good to hear and so happy for Bosco for doing really well in mainland.
I can’t believe Ron is still renting and not owning a house, it’s true that Ron was more promoted than Bosco but Ron is not getting where much.
no wonder there r so many “wanna bez” pple who wanna join the e-industry in HK … esp MHK and the mr HK
Ron is dating someone who is not famous in HK and she’s very low. Ron’s fans/outsider are sick of how dramatic his girl was.
Bosco is dating someone who is famous and have class therefore they were very likeable, together they will sure have a wide opportunity to make more money.
Love is not determinated by fame and likable. The case won’t be any better if Ron dates someone more famous than him. Look at Hawick Lau and Yang Mi to see how ppl say about Hawick.
There are Bosco fans who like Myolie and Myolie fans who like Bosco cos of their relationship, but I cant find any Ron fans who like Viann cos she is dating Ron. Or anyone who like Ron just becacuse he is dating Viann. Maybe if Ron is dating Linda or Kate or Tavia, Ron will have more fans.
I remember earlier on there was an article saying Bosco and Myolie will earn 20% more each if they are acting together, or something like that.
Myolie is actually better with Ma Ming or Kevin. Ma Ming is more adorable and nicer than Bosco and doesn’t smoke or drink, while Kevin earn more than Bosco.
I don’t know why Myolie have to like a guy who smokes and likes wine.
Myolie knew Bosco and Kenneth since Triumph. Back then she didnt think too highly of Bosco but she saw his better side after filming WOIL. Kenneth and Kevin, imo, are nice but kind of boring. Bosco is more cheerful and this is why Myolie likes him. Rich isnt a factor for someone who earns so much.
What’s wrong with a guy who smokes and like wine? Smoking and drinking doesnt mean a person has a horrible personality.
@Fiona
LOL true KM is a lot more diamond bachelor qualities than Bosco who smoke and drunk and waste money on cars! LOL but I don’t like Myolie so good thing she doesn’t pick KM LOL
@anonymous Bosco is a smooth talker who knew what he have talked to Myolie during WOIL. If I’m Myolie I will consider Ma ming or Kevin more. They have better personalities.
@Vivien well I won’t force you to like Myolie. Everyone has own opinion 🙂
I like Ron more because he protected Viann.
I am touched at how much 620 knows about Kevin, including his 3 properties dream. This is true love ladies and gentleman. Who is Charmaine eh? No no. His real true love is the woman whose name sounds like the 3 numbers.
Yes, but ms. Lok is being naive if she believes Kevin actually wants 1 house for mom, 1 for him, and 1 for his future son. It’s more like: 1 for mom, 1 for him, and 1 for his mistress.
But it’s ok. Besides Kevin, ms. Lok also has many other “true loves” like LF.
But she truly loves Kevin. Maybe she hopes 1 of the house is for her.
Whoever KC wanna give his houses to, as long as he still uses his name as owners of the house, he isn’t naive :P.
When Kevin become successful after Bubujingxin, suddenly Lok get back closer to him after ditching him for Raymond earlier. Gross.
620 always with KC, dun be worried, haha.
I wonder how much does Tavia receive per episode in Mainland?
Some articles stated before that she’s got RMB40k/eps, lowest among the TVB famous actresses who went to China.
latest lol post said she got 60K. LOL but still lowest
Then what about LF’s income from mainland series?
Tavia is the least popular among those actresses. No wonder her price is cheap
@fiona
LOL cheap 😛
@Raylan: Not confirmed but rumour spreaded last year that he was paid 200k RMB/eps for Ad Mania (filmed in 2010). Maybe when his upcoming China series starts, the new fee will be revealed.
the bottom of the list is not the lowest. Be realistic. there are other A-listers that didn’t even make the list. isn’t fala filming in mainland atm? and kate tsui also planning to film? What are they getting? So wouldn’t they be considered the cheapest? coz they didn’t make the list. apparently fala is only a supporting actress.
oh there’s also other actresses such as kenix kwok, maggie cheung either… they didn’t make the list out of the actresses so i wonder what they are getting?
This headline just makes me think of a very funny song, Don’t Download This Song, and particularly these lines;
Don’t take away money from artists just like me
How else can I afford another solid gold Humvee?
And diamond-studded swimming pools, these things don’t grow on trees
So all I ask is, everybody, please…
Read more: WEIRD AL YANKOVIC – DON’T DOWNLOAD THIS SONG LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/dont-download-this-song-lyrics-weird-al-yankovic.html#ixzz1xkaXvmjh
Copied from MetroLyrics.com
Ahhhh suddenly I am active again!! ANDDDDD I am still no. 2 in most comments posted.
Oh that is because I use Funn instead of Funn Lim!!
I got buried until no..10th, 11th and counting lol after I went for a short trip..
What about salary of Kenneth Ma,Bobby Aun Yeung ,Ruco Chan ?
By the way Kenneth and Ruco are more talent than Bosco or Ron ,why mainland do not hire them and offer them better salary ?
Are the Chinaman hire Kevin to train the actor or actress since chinaman actor dragon ladies actress are less talent ,only good looking and pretty face ,agree?
KM is much more awesome than Bosco. The producers must be blind don’t know why they love Bosco so much.
ma ming is more popular and handsome than Bosco. Ma Ming’s fee must be higher but stupid TVB force Ma ming to film triumph in the sky
of course Ma Ming better than Bosco. Agreed. Ma Ming has also more popular than Bosco since THC become a hit. Bet you people must already forget Cripple Co LOL
Should I change KM to MM now? Or should I stick to KM?
@Vivien I don’t finish Lives of omission because Laughing and Kate turn me off so don’t talk to me about whatever bai co
Ma Ming’s appearance in TITS2 is a stupid decision? Oops… Then Bosco and Kate have smart choice to leave it in your opinion?
It should be the other way round since kevin can’t act.
I disagree. You should go and watch Ghetto Justice and Bubujingxin. Kevin is excellent.
Because mainland dun hire them, that’s all :P.
good for thm.. no point slaving in tvb for peanuts
hello
Congrats to Bosco… But indeed very surprised, didn’t know Bosco is so popular in China.
TVB is losing all their artists. Lower pay & longer working hours in TVB- all artists will not “put” their 100% effort in acting but to look forward to earn money in China 🙁
How is TVB gonna compete?!! soon no one will watch TVB series
Kaka,
“TVB is losing all their artists. Lower pay & longer working hours in TVB- all artists will not “put” their 100% effort in acting but to look forward to earn money in China How is TVB gonna compete?!! soon no one will watch TVB series”
I believe that TVB is just changing how they manage their artists due to the demands of economics. In the old days, HK artists did not cross over to China market. TVB was able to have exclusivity in managing its artists, maybe once in awhile let them appear in a movie.
With the pay so much higher in China, TVB has to live with reality. If it cannot offer its artists comparable pay, then it is natural that its artists wish to earn more money elsewhere. Rather than try to have exclusive iron grip over its artists, it is allowing artists to film overseas to earn more money. It keeps everyone happy.
The best thing that TVB is good at is marketing. It creates a lot of noise for its series and filming for TVB guarantees high exposure rate.
So TVB will continue to build recognition for its artists, bring them to “TV King and Queen” caliber, and allow them to film in China for more money. But it will require partial time to continue to film in HK.
I think this is a smart strategy if managed right. Not every artist is ready to leave the safety nest of TVB and run free. TVB is still a power broker in negotiating advertisement deals for its artists.
TVB just needs to continue to cultivate talent, groom the next generation of actors while the more “established” ones make money elsewhere. It keeps its artists happy, as they can get “promoted” to China.
And allowing them to go to China can truly improve their acting skills, so it is a good thing.
The only problem I see with TVB’s low pay is that it cannot unfortunately allow its scriptwriters, directors, etc. to go to China. So TVB’s level of pay for production staff will likely mean low-quality writers versus mainland China. Numerous former TVB writers are already working in China. So when we praise that mainland China scripts are better written, we may be praising the TVB staff or former years.
Kaka,
As for TVB’s long-term strategy, it will need to be responsive to the changing market conditions both in HK, China and abroad. Right now, it is focusing on HK and China markets, with overseas markets a bit neglected.
Dramas still appear to be TVB’s bread and butter. The drama production choices are still driven by HK local tastes, with some drams (such as “Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles) produced more with a mainland China market in mind.
As for overseas audiences, perhaps they had us in mind when they produced more edgy material such as “When Heaven Burns” and “Master of Play,” but the local HK/China market will always come first. Unfortunately, TVB has not positioned itself as a truly international producer of high quality Chinese entertainment content. Its quality in many aspects is simply not up to par in the international field, where new actors step into acting for the first time in their lives without much preparation.
With the popularity of sites such as PPS.tv, geographic location is no longer important. We can watch dramas stream live when it airs in HK. Thus, if TVB recognizes this, it should really improve upon its programming up to international levels. The international overseas market is huge, certainly much larger than its 7 million people in HK.
But before they turn to the international overseas market, TVB is focusing on mainland China first. Partnering with key regional broadcasting stations is still key.
TVB may not have as much money as the big power players in China, but if it creatively leverages its human assets, it can create a lucrative niche market for itself. Quality is still key. It can still maintain its former reputation as an “arthouse studio” of the 1980s, when its dramas had plenty of heart and featured creative content. If it cannot pay more, it has to find other ways to maintain quality.
Otherwise, TVB’s relevance will be eroded with time. Many people in the last 5 years have complained about their quality, even artists such as Felix Wong. TVB’s dominance for the last 3 decades made them too proud of their reputation, which is not a good thing.
I think Silver Spoon Sterling Shackles is a quality big production and will be successful! I love all the casts although not too keen on Tavia for some reason but Ma Ming, Damian, Elena, Sire, and Ron are all excellent casting and the whole production look grand. They also went to Shanghai to film 🙂
Fiona,
“I think Silver Spoon Sterling Shackles is a quality big production and will be successful!”
When I first read that “Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles” was produced with Liza Wang’s “Yesterday’s Glitter” in mind (to extract the successful grand family conflict theme), I felt that the drama catered to mainland China market tastes. Pre-modern and ancient dramas also seem to do well in China, while modern dramas are not as popular.
I sense that TVB is producing its programming with mainland market in mind nowadays, to benefit from profits of licensing rights.
If only they capitalize on the licensing rights of streaming its dramas to the international audience as well, then overseas fans will be happier. I’ll like to see more Hong Kong artists ready for the world, acting wise and so forth.
@fiona: Going to Shanghai to film isn’t a big deal. If you rmb, there are series who filmed in China but end up as a flop.
======================================
I dun think SSSS is suitable for the taste of Chinese at this moment. Reason is that Chinese has a lot of series with the same concept in the past, even too many to make the Chinese feel fed up with this type in a while. For example, the series Prominent Family in 2010 was a big flop. Now look like Chinese are fond of the teenage comedy type more. BTROC was not interested in China last time.