PCCW reportedly launches new entity to handle ViuTV's production and artiste management

PCCW has reportedly established a new division to take over its free TV division ViuTV's production and artiste management business, and has appointed ViuTV's director and general manager Lo Ting-fai as CEO of the new business.  According to multiple reports, Lo will lead the new self-financing business which will not only handle production and artiste management, but also explore more opportunities in foreign markets. Also, PCCW has reportedly appointed former TVB general manager Cheong Shin Keong as senior consultant too. PCCW said Cheong will offer insights and solutions to the company based on its business and growth. 

ViuTV's business has been growing. According to PCCW's interim results announcement for the six months ended on 30 June, 2021, ViuTV's advertising business thrived in H1 2021, with incremental spending from both new and existing advertisers attributable to the company's local content and the increasing popularity of its talent such as MIRROR. As a result, advertising revenue increased by 66% to HK$188 million. PCCW added that its artiste management and event business also benefited from the increased viewership, while MIRROR performed sold-out concerts earlier this year and group members starred in the ads of international brands. As a whole, the free TV and related business almost doubled its revenue to HK$256 million.

The enlarged scale of business and increased revenue helped narrow the free TV and related business’s EBITDA loss from HK$95 million for H1 2020 to H1 2021 HK$44 million. It's expected that the business is on track to reach profitability in the near future.

Reviewing its success, PCCW attributed ViuTV's growth to broadcasting the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 supplemented with a range of team-based game programmes to further drive viewership and monetisation. Looking forward, PCCW will continue to offer unique local content to maintain growth momentum, for example, the recent broadcast of Ossan’s Love (HK version) was a huge success and received overwhelming responses from the Hong Kong community.

Meanwhile, ViuTV's sister company Now TV has to announce an agreement to bring the FIA Formula One World Championship to Now TV viewers in Hong Kong for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Now TV began bringing F1 to fans in Hong Kong last month, starting with the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix  2021 on 5 September. 

“F1 is one of the most watched sports events in Hong Kong. We are very excited to have reached a broadcast agreement with Formula 1, allowing fans to continue to enjoy this world-class racing event for the next two seasons. F1 not only enriches our premium sports content lineup, but also meets the needs of customers looking to watch different sports events. To increase the appeal to Hong Kong F1 fans, we will enhance the Cantonese commentary," said Derek Choi, head of pay TV, HKT.

Now TV also inked a deal recently with UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Now TV plans to broadcast 42 live events per year, which consists of 30 UFC Fight Nights to be shown on Now Sports Plus (Channel 680) and 12 UFC numbered events to be shown on Now Sports 5 (Channel 635). Subscribers will be able to watch the action via Now TV’s on-demand service. Other various magazine programs, including Dana White’s Contender Series, UFC Connected and UFC Countdown, will also be made available for UFC fans.

Photo Courtesy: Sino Group

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