HKTV Interested in Francis Ng and Sheren Tang
HKTV’s Ricky Wong (王維基) has been poaching TVB artists for the last two years. Since announcing its plan to broadcast dramas over the Internet, HKTV will need additional artists to film for their productions. The latest targeted artists are Francis Ng (吳鎮宇) and Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯).
Originally, Ricky wanted Moses Chan (陳豪) to sign with HKTV. With Moses successfully renewing his contract with TVB, Ricky pursued Sheren and Francis instead and offered them large compensation in return.
HKTV has been eagerly pursuing Sheren after her relationship with TVB was damaged during the broadcast of 2013’s Beauty At War <金枝慾孽貳>. Due to the frequent last minute script changes, Sheren personally requested that HKTV would provide all finished scripts and stated that she would not participate in costume dramas. Since former TVB producer Jonathan Chik (戚其義) is pursued by HKTV, Ricky even tried mending the broken relationship with Sheren.
Although the Hong Kong government rejected HKTV’s free-to-air television broadcasting license, HKTV’s dramas will air over the Internet starting July 2014. With the media hype over HKTV’s plans, Francis also oshowed hsi interest. When prodded about possible collaborations with Sheren, Francis disclosed, “I will have to look at my schedule first since it’s very full right now. Even if I’m okay with the proposed plans, everything will have to wait until the end of the year or even the next. I can only say that it’s up to timing matters.”
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
Won’t believe this false rumour. Hope hktv fails.
Even if Moses Chan did not renew with TVB, he will not pick HKTV as his first choice. Smart move for Moses for renewing with TVB
why is that?
It is because Moses still would collaborate with tvb in the future, as well as because of his wife, aimee, who is still with tvb. Moses would definitely not want to be against his wife
Probably because of Aimee. Moses is a super good and lovable husband.
Other than Aimee, Moses is basically the advertising king (mainly due to his exposure in TVB series) and is one of their top earners. I would imagine he would want to try and stay in Hong Kong as much as possible to be closer to his wife and son. TVB also treats him very well- he gets really good roles from them and they basically chose him over Bernice when their breakup surfaced.
I don’t think Moses ever seriously considered it. The reason why the ‘rumor’ linking Moses to HKTV came about was primarily because of his long-time manager leaving (you guys know how the HK Media works…when something like that happens and no plans are officially announced, the Media goes into ‘speculation frenzy’ mode and pretty much throws in every single scenario that could happen). Since the timing of the manager’s departure was close to the time of Ricky Wong’s mobile TV announcement, I wouldn’t be surprised if the HK Media tried to link the two together….
With how much he rakes in from endorsements, there isn’t a need for Moses to venture out of TVB, with his need for financial stability or proximity to his wife and kids. He’s still TVB’s golden boy.. man
Is this a joke? I hope it is because this is not likely going to happen. I agree this is a rumor
Is another good option for viewers to watch thru Internet access if happen to be out fr home without tht tv box.
HKTV wanting to sign a 影帝. That’s some joke right there…
Why is that a joke? They already had several Movie Queens film for them (Paw Hee Ching, Prudence Liew, Kara Hui) as well as a 2-time HKFA Best Supporting Actor winner (Liu Kai Chi), plus an award-winning theater actor (Poon Chan Leung), a TV King and Queen (Ha Yu, Maggie Cheung), an HKFA Best Supporting Actress winner (Rain Lau), another HKFA Best Supporting Actor winner (Lo Hoi Pang), HK’s first Asia Movie King (John Chiang)….just to name a few (there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind right now). I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s quite a reputable list of actors and actresses. If HKTV can get all of those award winning actors and actresses to film for them, why wouldn’t they be able to get Francis Ng???
@ilwy but the names you have mentioned are mostly green leaves now or not really hot at the moment.but francis ng is very popular on this moment,and has many opportunities,he doesnt need hktv,unless they could pay a high price for him that is higher than what the movie or mainland market can offer.
@kolo: that’s true and from that perspective, I agree with you. However, the previous poster was taking the position that HKTV won’t be able to ‘sign’ Francis because he is a Movie King and therefore wouldn’t give them the time of day (at least that’s how I interpret the comment), which is an inaccurate statement because 1) whether he is a Movie King or not shouldn’t matter in this scenario and 2) HKTV was able to get other award-winning artists to film for them, so obviously it’s not impossible.
Cincai la
Haters will always be haters.
You guys act like Francis cares about the dispute between HKTV vs. TVB. In his eyes, it’s all about who can provide the most money to pay him for his service. This is not the first time that Francis has returned to the small screen. If he can work for TVB, he can surely work for HKTV, where he can possibly make more than what he was paid at TVB.
I don’t see or understand why it would be surprising if HKTV can hire Francis, cause as far as I know, Francis Ng is not exclusive to TVB. fools.
Money talks! As far as I know, Ricky is the loudest in HK television right now. Once he gets the ball rolling, expect more people to jumpship from TVB, as they are too cheap to pay fair wages.
Can you explain what is the amount you consider Fair Wages?
Don’t mean to jump in, but just wanted to throw in my two cents. If we’re talking TVB, fair wages should be, at the very least, the ‘at market rate’ that a comparable position is expected to make (sort of like the minimum wage thing we have here in the U.S.).
The ‘complaint’ about TVB being too cheap to pay their artists ‘fair’ wages is actually a proven fact, as TVB management themselves have acknowledged on several occasions that the salary TVB pays its artists is lower than typical market rate (so no, we are not making that up just to make TVB look bad)….it’s something that TVB is ‘well-known’ for and everyone in the industry knows.
Though in my opinion, the low wages is only a small part of the equation — most of the artists who left (on bad terms) did so primarily because of the way they were treated by TVB — whether it was contract dispute (that lame policy of having artists pay a penalty for not having enough shows is utterly ridiculous!), politics, blatant favoritism, etc., many of the artists who left did so not necessarily because of money, but because they felt ‘disrespected’ as an artist and/or they felt like their dignity was taken away. Yes, money does talk, but not for everyone (especially those who are not in dire financial need) — for some of them, being treated like a respectable human being is more important.
The loudest HK television voice couldn’t even get a licence…so how can he even be associated with television in the first place?
I feel fair wage should be for the writers, assistant directors, etc and not the actors. They get their fair worth in the context of the bigger scheme of things. The secondary actors, etc are the ones suffering.
Agreed! Francis Ng is a movie actor now first and foremost and has no ‘ties’ to TVB contract-wise, so why can’t he work for HKTV if he so chooses? In the past 2 years, HKTV already recruited quite a few actors / actresses from the HK movie industry to film for them (more than TVB has been able to get, that’s for sure), so what makes people think that they aren’t capable of recruiting Francis? If they are willing to meet his demands and he is able to fit it into his schedule, I don’t see anything wrong with that at all!
cincai la, why comment so much.
HKTV have a lot of freedom, if your under their contract you can still film at other TV stations as long as it does not affect HKTV. To back my words up here a video of one of the artist getting interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KJztO8qi50&t=2m45s
Yup…that has been the case since the beginning when HKTV started recruiting people 2-3 years ago. Ricky Wong had said from the beginning that he would allow his artists the freedom to work for whichever station they want to and indeed he followed through on that ‘promise’ (though of course, the mainstream Media rarely reported on it).
Those who still have doubts about how HKTV treats its employees or want to understand why so many HKTV artists still strongly supported HKTV despite losing their jobs, I highly recommend watching the entire program (Krolxl posted part 3 only, but that particular episode consists of 5 parts total). Not long after the licensing decision was announced, Spencer Leung (who used to work for TVB and ATV as well as most of the radio stations such as RTHK, CRHK, etc.) invited HKTV artists onto his NowTV show 娛樂審死官 so that they could share their side of the story as well as their feelings towards what had happened (and no, Felix Wong was not present on the show, but he WAS interviewed separately and DID give his thoughts on the govt’s decision). I think people will have a better understanding of HKTV after watching the program.
thank you for the link,its clear that hktv is a much better employer than tvb.
At first artists will have freedom, but at the end they will definitely will not. All companies starts out being nice and offer them great opportunities, but these are all tactics to lure them into their company. In the end it will be the same as tvb and all other production company. Hktv is a waste of time
I don’t know about HKTV yet, but I know for sure that TVB will not hire those artistes who have signed up with HKTV. A typical example: Maggie Cheung Ho-Yee signed up with HKTV end of 2011 or early 2012, and she was not even asked to participate in the promotion of her drama series “The Last Steep Ascent”, and her name was not listed high as 1st lead role. Instead Aimee Chan, who was acting a supporting role, was nominated for “Best Actress” award in “The Last Steep Ascent”. We can easily see how petty TVB is.
Shelley, nice baseless assumption.
This is not baseless assumption, it is the truth. Hktv is a waste of time
Shelley posted:
“At first artists will have freedom, but at the end they will definitely will not. All companies starts out being nice and offer them great opportunities, but these are all tactics to lure them into their company. In the end it will be the same as tvb and all other production company. Hktv is a waste of time”
Response:
“All companies starts out being nice and offer them great opportunities, but these are all tactics to lure them into their company.”
Have you seen the Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese’s broadcasting industry (to name just a few)? All of those entertainment markets are OPEN, allowing their artists to roam between different production companies, allowing them to speak freely in their native tongue, and won’t tie their artists down on illegal contracts for 10 years. I certainly know TVB has done that, but has HKTV? that remains to be seen, so you’re making an assumption in your quote and that’s BASELESS. Not to mention, even if you don’t include HKTV into the picture (as they don’t have a FTA licence), now that NOWTV and I-Cable will be open for business in the coming months, that can offer better salary and a better working environment than TVB, and also holds a FREE-TO-AIR licence, the playing field has slightly evened itself out.
You’re under the impression that TVB will have this stranglehold on the market presently, and in the foreseeable future, Which is not the case at all. Open your eyes and look around a little. TVB is and will not be as dominant as it once was.
That’s why before you sign the contract, you you read it first.
Krolxl – TVB works with an UNSPOKEN contract that’s not written on paper.
Will:
“Have you seen the Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese’s broadcasting industry (to name just a few)? All of those entertainment markets are OPEN, allowing their artists to roam between different production companies, allowing them to speak freely in their native tongue, and won’t tie their artists down on illegal contracts for 10 years.”
Go read about the “slave contracts” korean idols are trapped in. Making factually inaccurate statements about about how TVB is so much worse, with a bunch of random asian countries. Oh boy.
hktv takes care of their employees well being, tvb slaved theirs out and those who need to get promoted failed to be promoted and those who doesn’t deserve get so much! just look at how the beauty pageant girls got promoted so fast without caring about their talents and the talented ones rot out in long contracts with tvb! look how many ma ming slaved out in supporting roles until he finally he got his chance and breakthrough in on call? look how many more years nancy will have to wait to get a lead role? she’s already losing her youth!
Nicole:
Korea’s “slave contracts” are still much better than what TVB offers their artists. What’s wrong with my comparisons? Feel free to rebute.
@Selfiwu: Tell your Ma Ming to go to HKTV ASAP. Email him, call him, SMS him, write blood letter to him, etc. and/or any other way you can imagine. Please, beg him to go to HKTV.
LMAO~.
I personally don’t see a problem with Will’s examples, but fine…though his point about Shelley making ‘baseless assumptions’ still stands in my opinion because so far, she has no ‘evidence’ to back up her comment on why HKTV ‘is a waste of time’ and that they will for sure ‘be the same as TVB’ in the end. Just like none of us know for sure at his point whether HKTV will be successful, then by the same token, none of us know whether they will fail either. I don’t know about you guys, but whenever I see ‘generalized’ negative comments such as those from Shelley that have no basis in fact, I can’t help but conclude that the person making those comments must be a ‘hater’….yes, technically I’m making an ‘assumption’ as well, but at least my assumption is based on logic and analysis of the facts at hand….
@sandcherry: Well, actually, the piece about TVB not re-hiring HKTV artists isn’t completely true — it really depends on who the artist is, what their relationship with TVB was originally, and what their behavior has been like since leaving TVB…all those factors will definitely play a role. Most likely TVB won’t rehire artists like Felix Wong, Frankie Lam, Maggie Cheung, Wilson Tsui, Deno Cheung, etc, since all of them have been quite outspoken about their support for HKTV…but the others are a possibility. Case in point…TVB recently rehired veteran actress Angelina Lo back to work for them , even though she had left on ‘ok’ terms and had even given an interview explaining why she decided to join HKTV. And throughout the past year or so, I’ve been seeing a few HKTV contracted artists appearing on TVB’s variety programs, so it’s not like TVB is against everyone who signed with HKTV or had filmed for them at some point. The situation will definitely vary for each artist…
@Fox: What’s your problem fox? I assume that your about 14years old either u got some serious problem. Do you always sounds like this irl? Somehow i think that your comments sometimes are rude.
Always defending Raymond Lam and bashing other artists. And still you whine about people bashing your Raymond.. sigh….
@Rigged?!: no, I’m a lot younger :P. Other than LF, I also defending a number of other ppl whenever I want. However I guess you feel butthurted because sometimes I don’t praise or have the guts to praise your idols. Are you that much of a crazy fan? Lolz.
Btw, how old are you?
@Fox: To be honest I’m a LF and bosco fan. So I don’t think you got my point. It’s about your attitude…But who am I to judge you?
I’m 24.
Yes, who are you to judge after you bullied the poor Fred for a fun poll? I did edit to ask for how old you think you are instead of your actual age but I can’t post ytd. So I’ll take 24 as the number you announce.
I haven’t bullied Fred. Are you kidding with me? Proof?
If the script and money is good Francis might film for them its just work
In the television industry, if you want to make money you go to China to film television series. But only after you have gained enough exposure in the HK market. One of the big reasons why people film for TVB at lesser pay.
Events appearance, advertising income and endorsements will come after filming for TVB. This is where you make money.
Getting a higher pay packet from HKTV vs all the incentives you get after filming for TVB, you will realise it’s not comparable at all.
HKTV currently do not have the pulling power to give artist exposure in the HK and SEA market.
gingermesh:
“In the television industry, if you want to make money you go to China to film television series. But only after you have gained enough exposure in the HK market”
dont agree,look at hawick lau,sammuel chan,they almost rotten away at tvb with no appearance and ads income.when they left to mainland market,they are quite unknown,and became famous and made name for themself without tvb.and their fee is skyhigh now.
and i think if hktv drama can get good ratings,the ads and appearance for their artist will automatically come,tvb artist have a lot of ads and appearance because they have a monopoly,but this will dissappear with the 3 new tv stations to come.
Agree with kolo.
Hktv is a waste if time. Their series are much worse
Argee hktv may give lots of money however think about the frame and status from tvb .Not saying hktv is bad or being bias towards them. Tvb may sound like a cheap arse company but Tvb is actually a big company which have lot of connection (world wide). when there is chinatown or a asian specific place there will be always tvb that is a fact. i can tell you hktv will get popular due to it online however ricky artist will be wasting their time. What the point if the show is online what dont they become leng mo they have more chance to get more frame or goto china mainland. This is where tvb main selling point is once they are famous they goto china and film 1million a series etc.
sorry for the grammer errror ceebs fixing
momo,eh no wonder tvb have world wide connections,they already existing 46 years and you compare tvb with hktv that still has to establshed?
I agree with Moo Moo Farm and GingerMessiah. TVB doesn’t pay as much but it does get you the exposure. And once you become known, you get make the money by attending different events and doing endorsements and also filming in China. HKTV is going to be able to only air over the internet. How is that going to get as much exposure as TVB where it’s on the tv screen? If I was an artist, I would choose TVB over HKTV for this matter. I don’t think HKTV really has a chance to go up against TVB. Just my opinion.
Two thumbs up to u. Agree
Yup, agree.
But……why should an artist have to choose between HKTV and TVB? They should be able to film for whichever station they want. This is how China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan operates (and I think this is why their dramas have better qualities and are more popular than HK dramas). I think the HK entertainment industry needs to be restructured if they want to compete with other asian countries. Their old ways of doing business is NOT working. There will be two more TV Stations coming. If artists are bound to only one station at a time, then I wonder how much change it will really bring?
Sharine – Agreed!
@Sharine: Well-said. At the moment, HKTV and TVB technically shouldn’t even be compared along the same lines because one is television and the other is Internet. Even the Communications Authority in HK agrees that HKTV doesn’t pose a threat from a competition standpoint right now because HKTV holds a telecom license (that’s the license China Mobile had) whereas TVB’s is a television license…that’s why they announced recently that Ricky Wong can move forward with his venture and there is no need for investigation into HKTV’s acquisition of China Mobile.
Basically, times have changed. The days of an artist being tied down to only one TV station are gone….nowadays, many artists value freedom more and more, especially those who are very passionate about their craft and want to have the ability to choose their work.
Francis and Sheren Tang already are very well-known so that they do not need to be working with TVB anymore. If HKTV treats F and S well and gives them higher pay than TVB then, definitely, F and S will work for HKTV. I am looking for Francis – Sheren Tang collaboration; the series that they play would be very good to watch.
Joining hktv is very unlikely for them
do you work for TVB or what?
@lawls – Are you brainwashed by hktv?
@Shelley: Have you even been keeping up with HK entertainment news or are you making baseless assumptions again due to your intense hatred for HKTV?
Prove to me why joining HKTV is ‘unlikely’ for Sheren? How do you know she won’t film for them? I actually think it’s pretty much a given that she WILL collaborate with HKTV, it’s just a matter of timing…the writing has been on the wall for almost a year already….and unlike you, I actually have facts to back up my argument. For starters, check out this blog post I wrote back in June 2012 where I recapped a weibo post that Sheren had written, which, coincidentally, praised Ricky Wong’s production values (http://llsmusings.blogspot.com/2012/06/weibo-fever-15-will-sheren-tang-be-next.html). Also, if you’ve paid any attention to Sheren’s weibo posts or interviews after that, you’ll notice that she shares a lot of the same production values and workplace practices that HKTV does (ie: 100% complete scripts prior to filming, real location filming, allowing artists sufficient time to rest, etc). Based on the above (which isn’t even all-inclusive, since I’ve got other examples as well), it sounds to me that Sheren views HKTV as the ‘ideal’ place to work (outside of going back to the Mainland) since it ‘fits’ all of her ‘criteria’ pretty much (of course, only disadvantage is lack of TV license)….so then, looking at he above, how is it “unlikely” for Sheren to join HKTV???
@llwy12
I don’t believe 100% script, most(maybe all) production companies don’t have 100% scripts. People will say that they will have the script ready (although they won’t have it), it is to lure them in. People can easy say things like those, but when it comes in doing it, it is another story
@llwy12
Don’t be so naive on believing those things (ie: 100% complete scripts prior to filming, real location filming, allowing artists sufficient time to rest, etc).
100% unbelievable and impossibe
@ Shelley – brainwashed by HKTV??? i think YOU are the one who has been brainwashed by TVB- a company who have reused story lines over and over again,used same actors/actresses over and over again, usually have rushed endings and most importantly, the lack of talent. I can’t wait till HKTV make TVB obsolete. Heck I would rather watch shows from mainland China over TVB any given day because of their better acting, more complex and unpredictable story lines and the use of REAL sceneries (unlike the lousy hollow floors that TVB use on set).
Making TVB obsolete is a bit extreme… Healthy competition is good and surely the market can accommodate both stations. TVB just needs a good kick up the backside, especially those in management. Like 620. (I’ve always wondered whether they’ve kept her just cos she’s so incompetent and they needed a scapegoat.) They need to open their eyes and learn from ATV’s mistakes…
@llwy12
Sheren is very picky towards her scripts and the drama that she films, therefore, it is very unlikely that she will film for hktv
F and S will not sign a management contract with HKTV but they may collaborate with HKTV for a series if the script and benefit both are good.
Jayne I gotta say this is a ugly photo of Francis Ng. You seem to find bad pictures of stars you may not like?
agree absolutely!
I think Francis might film a series for them if everything is good but he won’t sign a contract
lol good luck HKTV
support sheren to film with hktv since tvb already shunned her away and her costars in beauty betrayed her rspecially kenny wong. sheren don’t need tvb, tvb need her now and hktv will be lucky to have sheren as their shining star.
francis is a free man and i’m sure he’ll do at least a series with the more generous and employee oriented hktv who has better script and filming equipment than tvb!
yes, you are right 100%; love your comment.
The reality is HKTV will never get through when the Communist keeps hounding Ricky.
I hate the Communist; I love Freedom and democracy.
want meh
want la…
Really meh, i shy wo
shy ur head meh, u dunwan $$$ meh
This is an extremely horrible picture of Francis Ng.