TVB Artists to Release Their Own Original Content On “myTV SUPER”
A new era of Hong Kong television has begun. On March 1, both TVB and the upcoming free-to-air television station ViuTV held their own press conferences to announce some of their upcoming projects for 2016. ViuTV, which is owned by PCCW, will be replacing ATV’s broadcasting spectrum on April 6. It will have its first test run on March 31. TVB, on the other hand, will be officially launching their new OTT content service, myTV SUPER, on April 18. However, it will be preceded by a soft launch on March 15.
myTV SUPER to Release Original and Exclusive Content
According to TVB’s general manager Cheng Shin-keong (鄭善強), myTV SUPER will feature both original and exclusive content from 20 different channels, all available in HD. Aside from showing TVB’s own original programs, myTV SUPER will also be streaming other East Asian and foreign entertainment serials—TVB reportedly spent over a million to license the exclusive broadcast rights for the upcoming South Korean drama Saimdang, the Herstory <師任堂>, which stars Lee Young-ae (李英愛), premiering this September. The show will be available on myTV SUPER eight hours after its original Korean broadcast.
In addition to exclusive programs, myTV SUPER also plans on releasing original shows created by TVB’s own artists. The new program, which will be presented in a “cube shop” format, will feature original short clips directed and produced by TVB artists. It will also include another platform for the artists to interact with their fans. The top ten artists who have collected the most views by the end of the year will share $2 million HKD of prize money.
Sharon Chan (陳敏之), who owns a cookie bakery, has expressed her interest in participating, and revealed that she may film her own baking tutorials for the program. Singer James Ng Yip-kwan (吳業坤), who has a strong following on YouTube, said he is already coming up with ideas for new videos.
Cheng Shin-keong said TVB has invested at least a $100 million HKD on the service and guesstimates that the company would earn back its investment in two to three years. Although the online video streaming industry would be competitive, the TVB executive said he has confidence that myTV SUPER would turn into a success. He also doesn’t think that the release of myTV SUPER would affect the viewership ratings on TVB’s free-to-air channel. TVB “won’t be losing anything,” he said.
ViuTV to Offer More Choices
At ViuTV’s press conference, general manager Lo Ting-fai (魯庭暉) announced that ViuTV would be providing around 4,000 hours of content for 2016, which includes locally produced reality shows, sports shows, and serial dramas. Lo Ting-fai emphasized quality over quantity when it comes to producing serial dramas, expressing that ViuTV would only be making a few dramas per year. The station’s opening drama is expected to be Margaret and David <瑪嘉烈與大衛>, starring Bowie Lam (林保怡) and Catherine Chau (周家怡).
Lo Ting-fai also mentioned that all programs on the channel would only be available in traditional Chinese characters. Asking if this was a response to TVB launching its Mandarin-language channel “J5”, Lo Ting-fai said, “I feel traditional Chinese characters are easier to accept.”
ViuTV plans to start broadcasting prime time shows around 6:00 pm to 12:45 am. Most of the prime time slot would be dedicated to reality shows, which feature original content.
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Is this consider TVB’s competition? Like HKTV? Also I heard they are trying to get rid of Cantonese in HK by slowly switching the language on TV shows to all mandarin? If it’s true than it’s insane!
@kaykay408 ViuTV’s general manager actually made a comment to the effect that their station will use only traditional character subtitles on their programs. This was obviously in response to TVB replacing traditional character subtitles in their newscasts with simplified characters last week, which incurred the wrath of many HK audiences, resulting in a record-breaking 10,000+ complaints to the Communications Authority in less than 24 hours. Even Mainland audiences said on forums that TVB is a HK-based TV station, so they should be using traditional characters, not simplified — but looks like TVB isn’t budging, as they issued a statement defending their actions and said they will continue using simplified characters. It IS insane, but I guess when you’re a monopoly like TVB, you can do whatever you want.
@llwy12 wow what’s TVB thinking! But what about the language? Is it true that they will make Cantonese go away? Thank you for the info. By the way, you always seem to know a lot about TVB and its people. Do you mind I ask if you are one of the “insiders”? 🙂 you kinda gained a fan though lol.
@kaykay408 @happybi Well, the language thing is more of a society issue that involves the HK and Mainland governments, so really doesn’t have a whole lot to do with TVB (though also depends on who you talk to, as there is the sentiment out there that TVB is a government mouthpiece of sorts – which can’t blame people for thinking that way since TVB doesn’t help themselves with their actions and their seemingly enthusiastic ‘support’ of government initiatives). TVB having programs in Mandarin is not new – they have programs that are 100% in English too – so to me, that’s not an issue to fret over, since it does make sense for them to have programs in all 3 languages. The part that IS a problem is the simplified characters subtitles because that makes absolutely no sense. TVB claims that they are trying to cater to the needs of all audiences and so they have Mandarin newscasts for those who don’t understand Cantonese – nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but if the newscast is already in Mandarin, what is the need for the subtitles to be in simplified characters? It’s not like those watching the Mandarin newscasts are reading the subtitles too. The other part of this is that TVB made that stupid move with the simplified characters at one of the most sensitive times in HK from a political standpoint, with society at the height of the HK/Mainland conflict, which is why they got the backlash that they did (might seem harsh to say, but TVB pretty much asked for it….) – honestly, TVB needs to fire the person or team who is responsible for public relations at their station because they’ve been doing a HORRIBLE job the past couple years…
@kaykay408 Haha…thanks for the compliment. 🙂 No, I’m not an ‘insider’ – I’m just a long-time HK entertainment and TVB fanatic who avidly ‘follows’ the entertainment industry (though believe it or not, in recent years, I actually haven’t been following the industry as ‘religiously’ as I used to back in the [late] 80s and 90s eras). I don’t think you need to be an ‘insider’ to know a lot about the industry or TVB – most of the information I get is ‘public knowledge’ (and most of the time I find out at the same time the general public does), it’s just a matter of sorting through and paying attention to the right stuff (of course, having a variety of sources that cover different perspectives is important – for example, I know people who rely only on gossip magazines/websites to get their entertainment news fix, which obviously limits their perspective of the industry). Oh, yea, being an avid reader who can read Chinese helps too …. 🙂
@llwy12 No way! Traditional character are soo much nicer then simplify way. And once you know traditional way, you know the simplify way but not vice versa! Crazy TVB!! But wait.. we are talking about TVB.. they don’t care!!!
@kaykay408 Just wanted to share an article about the language issue that kind of answers your question about switching the language in HK from Cantonese to Mandarin: http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1920406/character-assassination-hong-kongs-furore-over
@llwy12 thank you so much for the article! Even though I don’t live in Hong Kong, it has a very special place in my heart. I grew up watching TVB, Stephen Chow’s movies, listening to the 90’s music etc…I love the language and the culture. It always makes me sad and concern every time I heard news like this. Brainwashing the children, changing the language, killing the unique culture, controlling people…all these political moves for “mainlandisation” purposes. This is just sad. I just hope as long as I’m still alive I won’t have to see Hong Kong gets swept away by mainland government and turn into just another cosmopolitan city on the mainland like they said in the article.
Whoa…it’s really the end of ATV. So much has changed.
@tiffany Yes, and perhaps literally….there were some things that happened with ATV the past 2 days and we’re down to the point where we will find out tomorrow whether ATV will need to shut down immediately or continue to ‘operate’ until the April 1st deadline originally established (if you can even call it ‘operating’ since most of their staff left already and the station is pretty much on its last breath). TVB and ViuTV couldn’t have timed their press conferences any better….
@tiffany It’s official…. ATV will be shut down as of Friday (details in this article): http://afspot.net/forum/topic/809843-breaking-news-its-curtains-for-atv-liquidators-to-shut-down-ailing-broadcaster-tomorrow-after-hong-kong-court-decision-cleared-the-way/
I can tell ViuTv might not work for the audience. People in HK love dramas. Artist from ViuTv probably will not have a chance to boom since they’ll only make a few drama per year.
@krolxl Not necessarily. ViuTV’s target audience is different from TVB’s actually. There are other articles with more details but basically, ViuTV’s general manager said during the press conference interview that their target audience are the younger generation of audiences who already stopped watching HK television and are looking for something outside the traditional fare that TVB provides. TVB’s target audience continue to be the ‘housewives’ who favor traditional soap operas and stuff that doesn’t require much thinking. If you look at ViuTV’s lineup of variety programs, all are geared toward younger audiences and is stuff that most traditional audiences are not going to care for (the program I’m most interested in is Travel With Rivals, which is a huge departure from the traditional travel shows and no doubt will raise quite a bit of controversy due to the content and those participating in the show).
Also, ViuTV management’s attitude and modus operandi are different from how TVB operates – they no doubt took a page from HKTV’s book and are taking a similar ‘open’ approach with a focus on what audiences want rather than what they want. The fact that ViuTV made it very clear they are NOT signing any artists to their TV station (the general manager said that artists and singers should ‘belong’ to all of HK’s production and record companies, not to one particular station) already tells me that they are on the right path (nowadays, artists want to keep their options open and most aren’t going to tie themselves down to one TV station). They said that they will collaborate with any artist and if the collaboration is a happy one, then they will continue to collaborate again – there will be no ‘contracts’ tying artists down like other TV stations.
@llwy12 your right!
@krolxl That might not be true as younger generation doesn’t like to be tie down by time.. so they won’t go home and just sit in front of TV and watch a drama..they prefer watching things when it suit them. So online is the way to go except there is lot of competition. Many free online streaming site these days…
Um, one important fact that this article forgot to mention: myTV Super will be subscription-based, so audiences won’t get access unless they pay for the service. This is definitely going to change things, as who would want to pay to watch TVB content if it’s going to continue to be the same crap that they’re already churning out on their free station now (especially now that there are other options out there)?
As I mentioned on my blog, I see this myTV Super thing as yet another ‘money-grab’ attempt by TVB. Sure, they say that they will have original content with the artists putting their own ideas into action, but given TVB’s track record and near ‘fanatical’ obsession with avoiding controversial issues/subject matter, I really doubt there will be as much ‘creativity’ as they are trying to make it sound.
It’s uncreative and plain lazy for TVB to just let their artists do a show. It just sounds like they’re really in a rut and can’t come up with new contents. This make Jacka$$ seem so prepared and meticulously thought out lol.
I hope ViuTV can give TVB a run for its money. I believe that HKTV did because all of the promised changes TVB had to come up with when HKTV was still in the running. I shall wait with fingers crossed.
@llwy12 , no contract can be a good and bad thing. For more established artists, that’s a great thing. They aren’t tied to one station, free to work as they pleased in a way, and be more choosey. It’s bad for those kelefe, however. Doesn’t that mean their job is in secured? Especially if they don’t have a demand from audiences or a fanbase, they’ll be like living payck to payck where they don’t know if they’ll be in next drama or have a strady income. Maybe I’m just over thinking this… I just hope ViuTV is better managing their people than TVB over the recent years.
@jjwong Well, yes and no. It’s true that there won’t be much job security, but by the same token, if those (third/fourth-line/kelefe, etc. )artists know from the getgo that it’s a ‘temporary’ job, of course they’re not going to (well, they shouldn’t anyway) rely on that as a main source of income. There are tons of production and management companies out there not linked up to a particular TV station that I’m sure would be willing to take on these artists and help seek opportunities for them and/or manage their careers. To me, ViuTV’s method of not signing artists is a smart move, as this way, they can focus more on what they’re supposed to be doing: producing TV shows and programs. [Sidenote: Let’s not forget that a huge reason why TVB is in the situation they’re in now goes back to issues with artists management – I remember former TVB chairman Norman Leung admitting at one point in time that they had “bit off more than they could chew” in terms of artists management, which resulted in artists being neglected (artist management department had no clue when some artists contracts would be up, resulting in some artists ‘walking out the back door’ without them even noticing)…it also contributed to the overall negative sentiment in that department, amongst other issues.]
Besides, the entertainment industry is meant to be fluid and being given the right opportunities is critical. Remember Alan Luk? He was a ‘nobody’ throughout the time he was at TVB despite his good acting, but once he joined HKTV, he became a ‘somebody’, even before his series aired (those who followed HKTV closely back then will probably remember the impersonation bit and the skit he did that shot him to popularity on the Internet). To be honest, in this day and age, with all the options out there in various disciplines (not just television), the idea of tying artists down to one TV station (even newbie artists who may not have made a name for themselves yet) is way outdated and is only going to be a detriment (to both the station and the artists) in the long run.
MyTV super I reckon will not work, as why would HK people pay a monthly subscription to see the same crap that TVB is dishing out now… Eventually the drama series on MyTV Super will be broadcast back on TVB Jade channel later anyway.
ViuTV I think will also fail, they are only producing a few dramas a year and prime time will be made up of mostly reality shows which audiences are getting tired of anyway. Plus the younger generation now don’t sit in front of the TV, they are more likely to go online…
The HK government should have given HKTV a licence, as they were genuinely competing against TVB , but now that is history along with ATV in a couple of days.
@mulder99 Yup…kind of funny, but the one comment I’ve been hearing most these days (and not just from the general public, but from industry people too): “The government should’ve given HKTV a license.” (even people who used to be anti-HKTV have been changing their tune – for example: TVB’s former GM Stephen Chan made the above comment for the first time in an interview several days ago). With the ATV debacle and TVB’s actions the last couple years, more and more people are just now starting to realize the impact that the government denying HKTV a license has on the industry – unfortunately, it’s too little too late now (where were all these people 3 years ago when the government’s decision first came down and HKTV was being ‘bashed’ and ‘ridiculed’ for trying to ‘change’ the HK television industry?). HK audiences pretty much need to just suck it up now and watch whatever crap TVB decides to feed them – and if they don’t like it, then try ViuTV and if they don’t like that either, then don’t watch TV at all (or, for those who are able to, go online to watch).
Oh, one other thing – in addition to being subscription-based, myTV Super requires users to buy or rent a set-top box and decoder in order to watch. And certain programs will require payment of additional fees to watch (sort of like a pay-per-view thing). There will also be a fee for those who want to watch via mobile app, as a special decoder will be needed for that as well, plus an additional fee for on-demand services. The rental fees for the box and decoder run for about 68 HKD a month, (though audiences who currently don’t have a set-top box can buy one for 780 HKD, in which case they wouldn’t have to pay rental fees), with the mobile app thing costing about 38 HKD a month. On demand services will cost an additional 68 HKD a month. None of this includes the subscription fee for the myTV Super platform itself. So HK audiences will go from paying nothing to a minimum of 100 to 200 HKD a month (rough estimate) to watch myTV Super. Of course, there’s the argument that audiences have a choice to just keep watching the regular free channel, which is true, but I wouldn’t put it past TVB to start putting some of their free channel content on the paid platform exclusively so that the only way for audiences to watch those programs is to subscribe (remember there had already been talk earlier about TVB pulling 5 of their series from their regular lineup and ‘premiering’ them on myTV Super instead of on their regular Jade channel). SK Cheng pretty much hinted at this when he said that they would essentially be switching audiences “from the left pocket to the right pocket”….
I find it hilarious that TVB is so confident that this myTV Super thing will for sure work and they will get their return on investment so quickly. They talk about HK audiences as though all of them are blind sheep who will just do their bidding because, well, let’s face it, HK audiences can’t live without TVB, right? Honestly, the stuff that TVB’s execs say nowadays make them come across like buffoons (actually kind of reminds me of ATV’s management…I hope in a few years time, I won’t have to watch Mark Lee and Co. dancing Gangnam Style in front of government headquarters, Lol).
Here’s an article originally from SCMP that gives more detail on myTV Super as well as good insight on what TVB is up against in terms of competition: http://afspot.net/forum/topic/809842-ott-battle-heats-up-hong-kong-broadcasting-giant-tvb-joins-forces-with-internet-provider-for-new-subscription-service/