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Small screens in Hong Kong
[Update: This post is updated on 20-Jun-2023 with new information added.]
After talking about big screens in
Hong Kong, I am going to move on to the small screens.
Image source: Wikipedia
Hong Kong is an international
city flooded with all kinds of entertainment and information. And the easiest
way to get entertained is definitely by watching TV! Yes, we have Netflix and
Disney+ here. But traditional terrestrial television broadcast still plays an
important role in the TV industry of Hong Kong.
Terrestrial Television >> 63.7% of total screen time
At the time of writing (Oct-2022),
we have 4 TV stations broadcasting 13 terrestrial TV channels throughout the
city, with another TV channel set to begin broadcasting by the end of this
year. [Update: Channel 78 started broadcasting on 21-Nov-2023.] For a city of 7 million, that sounds good, isn’t it? And even better, all
these channels are free to watch. The signals are not encrypted thus no subscriptions
are needed. And unlike the UK, there is no license fee to watch TV here. So, anyone
can just throw an antenna out of the window, picks up some signals and watches!
Before discussing any further on
the details of those TV channels, there are something to clarify, however. Yes,
just like most part of the world, people here are shifting away from
traditional TV to internet TV. The reason is simple. No one likes sticking to broadcast
schedule. The era of buying a TV magazine to find out which program to watch
has ended. This trend is especially significant between the younger
generations.
A friend of mine, married, at
around his thirties, commented on one of my Facebook thread. “I have a TV at
home but with no antenna attached to it.” I was, at that time, sharing the news
of a new TV channel in Hong Kong.
Similar conversations were heard
when I was buying my son some Pokémon collecting cards. At a toy shop counter,
a salesman, who looks like in his fifties, was talking to another salesman,
younger, at around twenties. “All children like Pokémon. You don’t watch
Pokémon cartoons at home? It is showing on channel 77 every evening.” The young
man replied, looked puzzled, “I have never heard of channel 77. I don’t watch
TV.”
Yes, this may be the truth.
People don’t watch TV so often nowadays. Or at least, not in the traditional
way. But having no knowledge on the TV industry of the place you are living in is
another thing. I believe watching TV or not is a personal preference. But not
knowing how many TV channels in your city is a lack of common sense.
4 TV stations, 14 TV channels
The latest (Jan-2022) survey [link] from Nielson shows that traditional Terrestrial TV still occupies 63% of TV
time in average Hong Kong families. Ever since the switch off of analogue broadcast
in Hong Kong, which happened on 30th November, 2020, all 14 TV channels now broadcasting are
digital.
Digital TV in Hong Kong uses DTMB
encoding, a standard originated from China and not really popular in the world.
Apart from China, including Hong Kong and Macau, only a handful of other
countries use this encoding format. But as an audience, we do not need to worry
too much on the differences between DTMB and other encoding formats. The TV
will do the decoding for us. But just bear in mind one thing. If you are going
to bring a TV from other countries to here, or planning to buy a TV from Hong
Kong back home, you will need a TV box.
Picture format is 1080i HDTV.
With an aspect ratio of 16:9, all pictures are technically 1980 x 1080 pixels.
However, there are differences in compression ratios between channels. So, some
channels will have clearer pictures while others, the pictures are less clear.
Below is a list of all 14 channels.
Radio
Television Hong Kong (RTHK)
RTHK is the public broadcasting
service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as
the first broadcasting service here. RTHK is a government department under the
Commerce and Economic Development Bureau. It currently operates 4 channels.
RTHK TV31 (Channel Nr. 31)
This is the main TV channel of
RTHK. It offers diversified programmes on current affairs, education,
information, arts and culture, dramas, movies and minority interests. It
broadcasts in Cantonese.
RTHK TV32 (Channel Nr. 32)
A live-event channel covering
Legislative Council meetings and other important press conferences, news sports
highlights and events of public interests. It also features live broadcast of
local football and basketball matches. Language is in Cantonese mainly.
RTHK TV33 (Channel Nr. 33)
TV33 is a Mandarin channel relaying
the programmes of CCTV-1. As Hong Kong is a part of China and CCTV-1 is the
basic TV channel freely available to all areas under the rule of Beijing
government, this is why we have it here. Similar to RTHK TV31, TV33 offers
diversified programmes on current affairs, education, information, arts and
culture, and minority interests. Only the language is different.
RTHK TV34 (Channel Nr. 34)
A simulcast of CGTN Documentary.
It is a documentary channel broadcasting 24 hours a day in English.
Fantastic Television Limited (FTV)
Established in 2009, Fantastic
TV granted its broadcast license in 2016 and started broadcast in 2017. It is a
company owned by i-Cable Communications, which also owns Cable TV, one of the 2
Pay TV stations in Hong Kong and also one of the largest internet providers. In
the first few years after establishment, FTV was only broadcasting through its
cable network. Terrestrial broadcast began in April, 2022.
Hong Kong International Business
Channel
(Channel Nr. 76)
An English and Mandarin business
channel simulcasts Bloomberg Television for most of the day, but also relays
CGTN in the mornings from 7 am to 9 am. The channel also produces English
language news bulletins & other non-business and obligatory programmes as
mandated in the license.
HOY TV (Channel Nr. 77)
“HOY TV” is the main channel
of FTV. It offers diversified programmes on current affairs, education,
information, arts and culture, dramas, movies and minority interests. Broadcast
is in Cantonese.
HOY Infotainment (Channel Nr. 78)
Started broadcasting on the 21-Nov-2022, HOY Infotainment is the youngest TV channel in Hong Kong. It is a 24 hours news
and finance channel, broadcasting in Cantonese.
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB)
TVB is the oldest commercial TV
stations in Hong Kong, now operates 5 free-to-air TV channels. Broadcast began
in 1967, TVB is known primarily for its dramas, and produces the Miss Hong Kong
and Miss Chinese International pageants. It has historically been the leading
television broadcaster in Hong Kong. Many Chinese movie stars and singers came
from there, including Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, Andy Lau, just to name a few.
TVB Jade (Channel Nr. 81)
Broadcasting started on 19th
November, 1967, TVB Jade is the flagship channel of TVB. Primarily broadcasting
entertainment programming, TVB Jade has historically been the most dominant
television channel in the region in terms of viewership. Language is in Cantonese.
Many famous Cantonese TV dramas are from TVB Jade. It is also the birthplace of
many Chinese movie stars and singers, well at least used to be.
TVB J2 (Channel Nr. 82)
As a channel mainly focus on
young people, TVB J2 is occupied by Korean and Japanese dramas. It also
broadcast self-produced documentaries, mainly travel programmes, as well as
other TV programmes adapted from mainland China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and
Taiwan. Language is in Cantonese.
TVB News Channel (Channel Nr. 83)
TVB News Channel is a 24-hour
non-stop Cantonese news and information channel based in Hong Kong and Asia.
The channel provides news and information updates every 30 minutes.
TVB Pearl
(Channel Nr. 84)
TVB Pearl is TVB’s only English
channel which heavily relies on imported programmes, including foreign drama
series and movies. Before the age of video rental, internet BT and streaming,
TVB Pearl is one of the only two sources for home viewing of Hollywood movies.
Other being the now defunct ATV World. It also produces news and other public
affairs programmes in English.
TVB Finance,
Sports & Information Channel (Channel Nr. 85)
Cantonese and Mandarin channel
provides financial, sports and monetary information, and also different
documentaries. It shows live football, horse racing and other sports. Different
from J2, this channel targets a more mature audience group.
Hong Kong Television
Entertainment Company Limited (ViuTV)
ViuTV is operated by Hong Kong
billionaire Richard Li's PCCW, through its subsidiary PCCW Media, which also
owns an IPTV platform, Now TV and operating an OTT service, Viu. PCCW is also
the major internet provider in Hong Kong and Now TV is one of the two Pay TV providers
here. ViuTV has already overtaken the popularity of TVB and became the city’s
greatest hit. City’s topmost popular boy band Mirror comes from Viu.
ViuTVsix (Channel Nr. 96)
This channel offers 17 hours of
English programming a day including news and public affairs, lifestyle shows,
foreign television series, and documentaries. Similar to TVB Pearl, it relies
heavily on imported TV dramas and movies, mainly from the US. It also produces
its own news programmes.
ViuTV (Channel Nr. 99)
Last but not least, ViuTV is the
flagship channel and also the most popular TV channel in Hong Kong at the
moment of writing. Broadcasting in Cantonese, ViuTV offers diversified
programmes on current affairs, education, information, arts and culture, dramas,
movies and minority interests. Its talent show King Maker successfully
produced many pop stars and singers, including the highly prominent boy band of
the area, Mirror.
Cable TV, or “Pay Television”
When talking about “Pay Television”,
many Hongkongers will immediately think about Cable TV, which is also the
mother company of the free-to-air TV channel Fantastic TV. In many local’s
mind, Cable TV is the first pay TV in Hong Kong. But in fact, it is not.
We have our first cable
subscription service back in the 50s. Rediffusion Television (RTV), later
renamed as Asia Television (ATV), was launched on 29th May, 1957. It
is also the first TV station in Hong Kong. (RTHK only provides radio services
at that time.) To compete with the then newly-launched free-to-air TV station
TVB, RTV changed from cable subscription to free-to-air in 1973. This marked a
temporary suspension of pay TV service here. Its cable network was however
retained as an auxiliary broadcast network of its programmes until 2012.
As a former British colony, Hong
Kong follows the broadcast standard defined by the British. We adopted the PAL
I standard which was used in the UK. However, with the limitation on the
bandwidth of analogue broadcast, only 5 TV channels can be squeezed in. With
the enhancement of living standard, demand for more home entertainment was
increasing since the 90s. Video rental became very popular but can only be a
workaround. There were continuous voices for more TV channels to be available
in the city.
Next generation of cable network
started building up to link the city. And in 1993, Cable TV started its
broadcast through its newly-laid cable network. Since it is a pay TV, Cable has
more resources than other free-to-air TVs on biding the broadcast rights of
various foreign programmes, especially football matches. It soon became very
popular in the city. Having a Cable TV connection at home is a proud in the
mid-90s.
Nowadays, coaxial cables were
all replaced by optical fibers. Cable TV has also upgraded its network to become
one of the main internet providers. And its internet competitor, PCCW
Netvigator, also launched iTV in 1998 to compete with Cable TV. iTV was renamed
as Now TV in 2003, which is also the second Pay TV station in the city.
Office of the Communications
Authority (OFCA) provides an updated list of all Pay TV channels. At the time
of writing, Cable TV is providing 124 TV channels while Now TV is providing 211
channels.
[Update: Cable TV ceased operation on 1-Jun-2023. Now TV is the only Pay TV station in Hong Kong, broadcasting 210 channels.]
The latest Nielson report shows
that Pay TV only occupies 2.4% of total screen time. Figure is not really
attractive and the reason is obvious. Yes, because of streaming.
Streaming and OTT
Technically, all TV providers
with an office in Hong Kong should be licensed. But we cannot see Netflix listed
as one of the Pay TV. Why? Thanks to the internet. The government has ruled out
the license requirement for internet broadcast since 2003. Netflix, Disney+, HBO
Go & Apple TV+ have already “landed” Hong Kong. Amazon Prime Video and Hulu
are also available but they are not officially “landed”.
YouTube, the company that turned TV industry upside down
There are also several local OTT
providers such as Hmvod, TVB’s MyTV SUPER, ViuTV’s Viu, ATV’s Asia Television
Digital Media, etc. Several local production houses also broadcast their
programmes through YouTube or Facebook, such as TVMost (毛記電視), Trial & Error (試當真), & Pomato (小薯茄). They are extremely popular
among the younger generations.
TVB's "MyTV SUPER" is the most popular local OTT provider
Netflix only comes third on streaming in Hong Kong
Local production houses "Trail & Error" and "Pomato"
The latest Neilson report shows that streaming occupies more than 20% of total screen time in Hong Kong. The most popular streaming service is YouTube. Local OTT provider MyTV SUPER is the first runners-up. Netflix only comes third.
To gain popularity, sometimes a production house is not even needed.
Ming Jai is a local YouTuber that has almost half a million subscribers.
He is earning more than 30k USD per month.
Image Source: KK Box
Satellite Television
This post won’t be complete if I
don’t talk about satellite TV a bit. Yes, we have satellite TV here. Many buildings’
public antenna has satellite dish attached. But satellite TV is never popular
in Hong Kong.
The reason is because of
language. In order to protect the local TV broadcasters, Satellite TV stations were
not allowed to broadcast in Cantonese, the most common language spoken in Hong
Kong. The ban was only lifted in the recent decade. Coverage is another a
problem. As in my apartment, there is no satellite dish. And even though I want
to watch Satellite TV, there is nothing I can do. To increase their coverage,
some satellite channels were simulcasted on Pay TV.
At the time of writing, there
are 6 Satellite TV stations in Hong Kong but none of them are popular. Some of
them are merely relay stations of foreign TV broadcasters.
Phoenix TV, everyone here knows about it.
But no one really cares about it.
Phoenix TV is probably the most well-known
Satellite TV station in Hong Kong. They launched their first Cantonese channel,
Phoenix Hong Kong Channel, in 2011. But it was never popular.
Other Screen Time
For sure, there are more usages of TV than watching live broadcasts. Video gaming and DVD watching also pays an important portion. The figure counts 13.7% in January, 2022.
This is what actually happening in my home.
Most of my screen time is devoted to this device.
Image source: Wikipedia
That is all for the "Small
screens in Hong Kong". I am not going to dig deep into different channels or programmes.
I will do this in later posts. This post only serves as an brief introduction to TV industry of Hong Kong.
Go back to the Lobby ...
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