TVB files police report for cyberbullying due to boycott calls

TVB has filed a police report claiming that some netizens had incited others to boycott the broadcaster, its advertisers and artistes. Two representatives from the company, accompanied by lawmaker Paul Tse, went to the Police Headquarters in Wanchai yesterday to make the report. 

Multiple reports, including the South China Morning Post, said the police had confirmed that the report had been filed. One of the incidents was for singer Hubert Wu's concert on 26 and 27 November, which will be organised at Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre. Ads for the concert are launching on TVB's platforms. The SCMP quoted a source from the police, who said some netizens had made an online appeal to boycott the concert and posted threatening messages on the internet, while officers from the police force’s cyber security and technology crime bureau had launched an investigation.

In a statement, TVB said it noted the recent intention of some netizens attempting to incite others to boycott TVB, its advertisers and artistes online, such as "harassment, molestation, pestering, threat or intimidation." 

"The cyberbullying behaviour may cause psychological or property damage to these parties and subsequently lead to social unsettling. In order to protect TVB and our advertisers, as well as stop indiscriminative cyberbullying, TVB today reported to the Police in the morning. The case will be
followed up by Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau," the statement wrote. 

TVB added that as one of the largest broadcasters in Hong Kong, TVB reaffirms its responsibilities in "maintaining social stability and harmony and ensuring public safety with law enforcement agencies and the general public."

"TVB gives zero tolerance towards any cyberbullying behaviour against corporates," it said.

TVB has been facing boycott calls from part of the public in recent times. In July, two individuals were arrested after posting threatening content on social media, and calling for people to boycott TVB and its clients placing ads on TVB channels. According to multiple previous reports including The Standard, the police arrested a 18-year-old secondary six male student and a 26-year-old man, who were suspected of conspiracy of criminal intimidation, inciting others to take part in unauthorised assemblies and to doing grievous bodily harm with intent. They were also suspected of continuously publishing content slandering TVB and threatening the company's advertisers to not place any ads on its channels.

The police told the press that TVB, as well as its artistes and advertisers, were attacked indiscriminately by the page, which also encouraged netizens to boycott TVB as well as companies which place ads on it. It urged netizens to click on the "angry" reaction on TVB's Facebook page to impact the page's social standing. Some of TVB's advertisers include Futu Securities, Cafe de Coral, Broadway, Taipan, amongst others.

TVB's advertising income in the first half of 2021 improved but the company lost HK$284 in total, according to its announcement of 2021 interim results.

In a statement, TVB said its advertising income from Hong Kong TV broadcasting reported a 31% increase from HK$351 million to HK$460 million. myTV SUPER registered users further increased from 8.6 million to 9.5 million as of 30 June 2021, equivalent to a growth of 11%. Subscription revenue increased by 8% from HK$146 million to HK$157 million, driven by average revenue per user (ARPU) growth from an expanding pool of subscribers. TVB added that myTV SUPER would continue to invest in original and first-window content for its premium service myTV Gold.

Looking ahead, TVB said its advertising business under Hong Kong TV broadcasting and myTV SUPER will continue to be a challenge in the near term. but advertisers’ reception towards recent events, such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Stars Academy series and the implementation of the consumption voucher scheme is positive, giving the company much encouragement that a return to growth is in sight.

When it comes to eCommerce, TVB, together with Shaw Brothers Holdings, announced that the two listed companies will acquire approximately 75% of the issued shares in Ztore which owns and operates e-commerce platforms ztore.com and neigbuy.com. TVB said its e-commerce business is expected to scale up by over four times gross merchandise volume (GMV) after the acquisition, driven by an enlarged customer base, increased promotions and live-streaming e-commerce on TVB’s channels and platforms.

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