The network marks its 10th anniversary this year with 30 per cent of total the TV households and nine per cent of the total TV advertising market under its belt. But it has hardly made a dent on the ratings or the ad revenue of terrestrial TV.
The launch of iCable was followed by iTV, which ceased operations in 2002 because of a low subscription base. Naturally, this raised questions whether Hong Kong could sustain more than one pay-TV operator but it didn't deter Yes TV and TV Plus from entering the market, though they've created little buzz since. It has taken last month's launch of Now Broadband TV to set the market abuzz again.
Can they really make an impact and shake up what is still is pretty staid local industry? Despite the slow take-up of cable TV in Hong Kong, TV viewing habits have changed substantially. MindShare did an analysis of TVB Jade's recent rating compared to 10 years ago and uncovered a picture of unpredictability and volatility. The highest and lowest average weekly ratings in the last 12 months were 10.8 per cent higher and 8.5 per cent lower than those in 1993.
Conventional wisdom had it that TVB's first mover advantage ensured it had a high number of habitual viewers. It was TVB Jade that viewers tuned into when they switched on their TV.Is this still the case? In recent years, the drama My Fair Princess and the game show Millionaire on ATV delivered higher ratings than TVB, offering solid proof that we can break habitual viewing with the right content. The proliferation of TV channels does not have to mean falling ratings for terrestrial TV. In fact, the recent Real Madrid match in Hong Kong achieved record high ratings since the introduction of Peoplemeter 12 years ago. The highest rating was 50 while the average rating was 47, proving that the industry can astutely use the proliferation of media to build buzz around a programme or event.
Agencies normally plan and buy TV based on the average ratings in the past four weeks. But this is no longer a sound approach, with a variety of factors influencing the rating of a particular programme, other than channels and timeslots. The role of channels might become less prominent as the popularity of broadband opens up new channels of video entertainment.
Hong Kong Broadband Network's entry into the TV market without a pay-TV license is a good example. Likewise, media planners should also open their minds and move from channel planning to content planning. There are numerous opportunities in content varied from product placement, production, co-production, casting and programme ownership for barter.
All of which should make the next 10 years far more exciting than the last decade.