Last Friday, telecommunications provider PCCW - the owner of the nowTV pay-TV platform in Hong Kong - said it planned to apply for a FTA licence. This followed similar declarations from two other local TV players, namely i-Cable Communications, which operates cable, broadband and fixed telephone services, and City Telecom, a telco which currently provides IPTV services under its Hong Kong Broadband subsidiary.
The attraction of the FTA market in Hong Kong is obvious. Broadcasting has for over 40 years been run as a duopoly between ATV and TVB. In practice, however, the set-up is moving closer to a monopoly, with TVB capturing more than 90 per cent of the viewing audience, while ATV implodes under the weight of competition. As such, there is much potential for a new operator in the market, especially a cash-rich telco that can invest in strong content and bid for a share of the TV adspend, which for 2009 was estimated at US$1.2 billion, according to admanGo.
From the pay-TV company’s perspective, entering this market makes perfect sense. As well as carrying the usual batch of international channels, these broadcasters have also invested heavily in building their own news, entertainment, business and current affairs programming. Between them, they also hold the exclusive rights to a majority of the blue ribbon sporting events from around the world - iCable has the 2010 football World Cup, the 2012 Olympics and, from August this year, the lucrative English Barclays Premier League football. It would be interesting to see how they would leverage these properties with viewers and advertisers in the FTA market.
The biggest winner of any changes in the FTA space, though, would be the consumer. Anyone who has laboured in front of Hong Kong’s FTA options can pay testament to the dearth of programming. While TVB is renowned across the region for its Cantonese-language drama productions, it has little depth of content beyond this and is losing its attraction to younger viewers. Even against this relatively low bar, ATV struggles to compete, and its dire financials and shaky management structure don’t suggest there will be much investment to address this any time soon.
The arrival of new players - presuming of course that they would provide a differentiated content offering - can only be good news for Hong Kong’s viewers. Whether the SAR’s government is willing to break up the duopoly - a radical move for sure - remains to be seen, but with three operators itching to get involved and public pressure sure to follow, the onus is now on the regulators to act.
Got a view?
Email michael.o’[email protected]
This article was originally published in the 28 January 2010 issue of Media.
The attraction of the FTA market in Hong Kong is obvious. Broadcasting has for over 40 years been run as a duopoly between ATV and TVB. In practice, however, the set-up is moving closer to a monopoly, with TVB capturing more than 90 per cent of the viewing audience, while ATV implodes under the weight of competition. As such, there is much potential for a new operator in the market, especially a cash-rich telco that can invest in strong content and bid for a share of the TV adspend, which for 2009 was estimated at US$1.2 billion, according to admanGo.
From the pay-TV company’s perspective, entering this market makes perfect sense. As well as carrying the usual batch of international channels, these broadcasters have also invested heavily in building their own news, entertainment, business and current affairs programming. Between them, they also hold the exclusive rights to a majority of the blue ribbon sporting events from around the world - iCable has the 2010 football World Cup, the 2012 Olympics and, from August this year, the lucrative English Barclays Premier League football. It would be interesting to see how they would leverage these properties with viewers and advertisers in the FTA market.
The biggest winner of any changes in the FTA space, though, would be the consumer. Anyone who has laboured in front of Hong Kong’s FTA options can pay testament to the dearth of programming. While TVB is renowned across the region for its Cantonese-language drama productions, it has little depth of content beyond this and is losing its attraction to younger viewers. Even against this relatively low bar, ATV struggles to compete, and its dire financials and shaky management structure don’t suggest there will be much investment to address this any time soon.
The arrival of new players - presuming of course that they would provide a differentiated content offering - can only be good news for Hong Kong’s viewers. Whether the SAR’s government is willing to break up the duopoly - a radical move for sure - remains to be seen, but with three operators itching to get involved and public pressure sure to follow, the onus is now on the regulators to act.
Got a view?
Email michael.o’[email protected]
This article was originally published in the 28 January 2010 issue of Media.
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