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TVB

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

An exterior view of TVB City, the headquarters of Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts Limited.

TVB Limited, often just called TVB, is a television network in Hong Kong that started broadcasting on November 19, 1967. It has five free-to-air terrestrial television channels, with TVB Jade being its main Cantonese channel and TVB Pearl its main English channel. Since 2003, TVB has been based at TVB City in the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate.

TVB has been very important in Chinese culture. It is famous for its television dramas, the Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International pageants, and for helping many Hong Kong actors and artists start their careers.

History

Origins

In the early 1960s, the government of Hong Kong studied the idea of creating a second television station. At that time, only one television station existed, called Rediffusion Television. There was debate about how to run the new station. Some thought it should be like the BBC, while others wanted it to be a business. One big challenge was finding enough shows to broadcast, especially in Chinese, since most shows would need to be made in Hong Kong.

The main TVB transmitter at Temple Hill. TVB was Hong Kong's first "wireless", or free-to-air television station.

Even with these challenges, people were interested. In 1965, the government asked companies to apply for a license to run the new station. A company called TVB, started by Sir Run Run Shaw, Sir Douglas Clague, and Harold Lee Hsiao-wo of the Lee Hysan family, won the license in 1966.

Opening

The new TVB station was officially opened on 19 November 1967 by Governor David Trench. The first broadcast showed a race from Macau, followed by the opening ceremony. That day, TVB began two channels: TVB Jade for Cantonese speakers at 4:30 pm, and TVB Pearl for English speakers at 6:00 pm. The first shows included a variety show called Enjoy Yourself Tonight and a news program called Meet The Press.

Infrastructure development

Hong Kong's hilly landscape made it hard for TVB to send signals everywhere. TVB built transmitters on mountains to cover the area. The main transmitter was on Temple Hill. Two more stations opened in 1968: one on Lamma Island and another at Castle Peak. A third station on Cloudy Hill started later that year, helping more people watch TV.

Development

TVB is praised for its shows, including popular dramas like War and Beauty. It also has many soap operas and variety shows.

The company has faced some criticism for signing exclusive deals with local celebrities, which some say is unfair competition. However, many artists are still free to work with other TV stations.

TVB holds big award ceremonies for music and has received awards for its community work. In 2005, it helped raise money for people affected by a tsunami in South-East Asia. TVB also expanded into Australia and Europe, offering many channels for viewers there.

Location

TVB started out on Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong, close to RTHK and ATV. But by the late 1980s, they needed more space, so they built a new studio called T.V. City in November 1988 at 220 Clear Water Bay Road. This was an old movie studio used by Shaw Brothers since 1958. Later, the old Broadcast Drive place became apartments, and the first TVB City was used by Celestial Pictures.

TVB Clear Water Bay headquarters in 2002

In 1998, TVB started planning an even bigger headquarters. In October 2003, the new TVB City opened in the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. This huge building has lots of space for making TV shows, including a big studio that can hold over six hundred people. It’s the largest TV studio in Asia for commercial TV stations.

News operation

TVB shows many news programs, like News at 6:30 on Jade and News at 7:30 on Pearl. It also has its own news channel called TVBN, and another one called TVBN2. These channels are part of TVB Network Vision.

Subsidiaries

77 Atelier Limited is a Hong Kong television drama studio owned by TVB. It focuses on creating stories with smaller teams and works with outside creators, different from TVB's usual methods. It also works with Chinese streaming services like Youku and Tencent.

TVB Music Group Limited is a record label owned by TVB. It creates music for TV shows and manages singers from TVB competitions. The label began as Stars Shine International, founded by Herman Ho, and was later renamed TVB Music Group after TVB bought part of it. It also has a sublabel called All About Music to support artists from the Stars Academy competition.

Notable shows from TVB

Main article: List of television programmes broadcast by TVB

TVB has created many famous shows over the years. One of the earliest was Enjoy Yourself Tonight, a fun variety show that ran for many years and was similar to Saturday Night Live. Another popular show was The Bund, a drama that became well-known across Asia.

There have been many beloved dramas, like The Legend of the Condor Heroes, which was based on a famous novel and became one of the most-watched shows in Hong Kong. Other hits include Looking Back in Anger, a very popular drama, and War of the Genders, which many consider one of TVB's best comedies. Shows like Triumph in the Skies and A Fist Within Four Walls have also won many awards and been very popular with viewers.

Corruption probe

Main article: 2010 TVB corruption scandal

In March 2010, the general manager of TVB and four others were arrested for alleged unfair actions by a special group that fights unfair practices. TVB said that three of their workers were part of this and were not allowed to work while more information was gathered. Later in September 2010, the general manager was officially accused, but TVB did not share more details. In September 2011, the court decided that the general manager and the others were not guilty.

Controversy and criticism

Since 2009, many people have said that TVB shows too much support for China in its programs. During big events in 2014 and 2019-2020, TVB was also accused of not reporting news fairly. Because of this, some companies stopped advertising with TVB.

In 2023, some people who own parts of TVB wrote a letter saying that TVB did not tell them the truth about important company matters. They also said that TVB lost a lot of money on some investments and that its online shopping site needed more work.

Decline

In 2018, TVB made several changes, including cutting down staff and ending some shows and channels. A popular sports show ended, and some online services stopped. More staff reductions happened in later years.

In 2020, TVB worked with Chinese companies to grow its business. By 2023, some viewers felt TVB's shows were too similar and wanted more creative content. In 2024, TVB combined two channels and expected to save money on costs.

Board of Directors

Board of Directors
Executive ChairmanThomas Hui To JP
Non-executive DirectorLi Ruigang
Non-executive DirectorAnthony Lee Hsien Pin
Non-executive DirectorKenneth Hsu Kin
Independent Non-executive DirectorDr. William LO Wing Yan JP
Independent Non-executive DirectorDr. Allan Zeman GBM, GBS, JP
Independent Non-executive DirectorFelix Fong Wo BBS, JP

Senior Management

Senior Management
CEOCatherina Tsang Lai Chun
General Manager (Content Operations)Eric Tsang
General Manager (Business Operations)Siu Sai Wo
Deputy General Manager (Legal and International Operations)Desmond Chan Shu Hung
Chief Financial OfficerIan Lee Hock Lye
Assistant General Manager (Human and Production Resources)Kevin Tse Wai Kwong
Assistant General Manager (Drama Production)Catherina Tsang Lai Chun
Assistant General Manager (News and Information Services)Yuen Chi Wai
Assistant General Manager (Talent Management and Development)Virginia Lok Yee Ling
Assistant General Manager (Corporate Communications)Bonnie Wong Tak Wei

Channel list

Hong Kong Free-to-air

MyTV Super

Main article: MyTV Super

TVB Network Vision stopped its service on 1 June 2017, and the platform called MyTV Super took its place to offer paid television services. The company name "TVB Network Vision" changed to "Big Big Channel". In 2024, Big Big Channel stopped operating.

International

Malaysia

Co-owned with Astro:

Thailand

  • TVB Drama Thai Channel (V2H8)
  • TVB Thai Treat

Cambodia

  • TVB Cambodia Drama
  • TVB Cambodia - Romance & Comedy

Related articles

English language
BBC

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on TVB, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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