Richard Li and Johnnie To Join Forces To Take Hong Kong Entertainment International

Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li’s  (李澤楷) Noble Castle Ltd has joined forces with filmmaker Johnnie To‘s (杜琪峯) Milkyway Image Ltd to create a new entertainment company. The new company seems to have set their eyes on expanding internationally past the local market. Interestingly, the Board of Directors also includes ViuTV General Manager Lo Ting Fai (魯庭暉), suggesting imminent collaborations with the station down the pipeline.

ViuTV Gains Powerful Allies

With heightening competition between Hong Kong’s broadcasting stations, TVB and ViuTV continue to form new strategic alliances to boost their strength. While TVB has been partnering with Chinese streaming platform Youku to produce dramas in recent years, it is also starting to jointly produce content with outside parties. Meanwhile, ViuTV continues to cast a wider net and aligned itself with Richard Li and director Johnnie To’s newly formed entertainment company.

As the stations see online streaming as an increasingly important source of revenue, TVB is placing greater emphasis on the lucrative Mainland Chinese market. Celebrating its fifth anniversary this April, ViuTV is still strengthening its share of the local Hong Kong market, but multiple forces are in motion to suggest it is also eyeing the international market.

Experimenting with new ideas, TVB and ViuTV are churning out new content, especially variety shows at a rapid rate, as they try to win over viewers.

In April, ViuTV had already announced upcoming plans to collaborate with Johnnie To to film new dramas. The filmmaker praised ViuTV for reviving the industry and bringing new ideas to the table, “ViuTV has many young people brimming with potential. There is a lot of potential growth for creative jobs within Hong Kong’s entertainment industry. I don’t want to lose out, so I immediately contacted ViuTV General Manager Lo Ting Fai to see if there is an opportunity to work together.”

Source: HK01

This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.