bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

I-Cable Communications is trying to build  a new free television model by tapping advertising revenue to ease the impact of losing its exclusive rights to  air English Premier League  football matches later this year, i-Cable Entertainment executive director Tsui Siu-ming  says.

The company's Cable TV is losing its dominance as a broadcaster of foreign sport programmes after PCCW's Now  TV won the exclusive rights to broadcast EPL matches from August.

Last week, PCCW broke Cable TV's monopoly on Italian football Serie A matches by securing about 130 matches each season for three years, also from August.

Cable TV will keep the rights to show about 250 matches over the same period.

'We are aware that using high prices to bid for the football rights is not a good strategy for our future growth,' Mr Tsui said.

Sports programmes had helped i-Cable establish a leading position in the market but their costs were 'one-off' and such programmes did not generate new revenue through being resold to other stations after their initial  broadcast.

'Cable TV should transform itself from a programme carrier to a production-based broadcaster,' Mr Tsui said. 'We should have our programme library generate more revenue  by selling copyrights to other broadcasters.'

Cable TV has attracted more than 700,000 paid subscribers through production of  cookery programmes and fung shui commentaries.

More in-house  programmes should help to build up subscriber loyalty to the broadcaster, Mr Tsui said.

The company aims to increase its local audience through programming such as Cable Entertainment News and differentiate itself further from  Now TV, which relies more on foreign content such as Hollywood films and  ESPN Star Sports programmes.

'We need to have good programmes on hand to offset the negative impact  of losing the English Premier Leaguer rights,' Mr Tsui said.

A new Chinese-language channel will aim to increase  Cable TV's customer base this summer, offering a mix of all  its programmes such as news, entertainment and sports, while it will  also be given extra resources to  make new programmes.

The channel, which has yet to be named, will be similar to the company's  A Channel, whose mix of Cable TV programmes is  broadcast to about 500,000 Hong Kong households  via  Satellite Master Antenna Television (SMATV) and whose viewing costs tend to be  included in building  management fees.

'We will continue to expand our coverage through SMATV distribution to more than one million households,'  Mr Tsui said.

'Together with our existing  fibre-optic network, we are able to reach  more than two million -  or 90 per cent - of Hong Kong households.'

The new channel will rely on advertising  rather than subscription fees  for its main revenue.

'As we have existing production to support the new channel, it will be easy to break even. We will target more advertising revenue to cover our operating costs,' Mr Tsui said, while declining to give details.

Mr Tsui believes  the new channel  will  break even within 18 to 24 months.

'Competition between new media, such as the internet, and old media, such as television, is keen and there are doubts whether Cable TV can tap market share from  [Television Broadcasts],' a media analyst at a brokerage said yesterday.

TVB also needed to diversify revenue through new product placement or sponsorship. 'It would not be an easy task for Cable TV to sell airtime based on existing programmes,' the analyst said.

Cable TV began to consider the idea of starting a  new channel after discovering  that some of its Sunday prime-time A Channel programmes were attracting more viewers than those airing on  Hong Kong's free  television stations.

'The idea of establishing a new channel comes as the rating of our A Channel is good compared with other free television  channels,'  Mr Tsui said.

The new channel would avoid direct competition with  TVB's Jade Channel, a dominant Chinese-language  channel  with more than 70 per cent of the Hong Kong market.

'We will focus on drama, entertainment news and music programmes, and offer a new option to the local audience,' Mr Tsui said.

To build a good foundation  for the new channel, the broadcaster is planning a new  comedy series  as a brand product.

The  programme 'should help us to build a closer relationship with our audience and promote  the Hong Kong spirit', Mr Tsui said.

The 130 hours of television comedy will cost  HK$800,000 to HK$1 million  per hour to produce.



Hong Kong developers Swire and Wharf report profit growth amid valuation pressure

Hong Kong property could gain as Middle East turmoil reshapes global wealth flows

Middle East tensions add uncertainty to Hong Kong retail rents, Wharf REIC says

Hong Kong politician Bunny Chan bets US$40 million on luxury market with Stanley purchase

Wharf Holdings

I-Cable counts on free TV to soften loss of English football