Hong Kong's TVB rolls out Chinese channel in Japan

TOKYO: Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts' overseas arm TVB

International has launched a 24-hour Mandarin-language entertainment

channel in Japan with the help of local partner, Dai Fu, which comprises

Fuji Television, Sony Broadcast, Kycoera and ad agencies Dentsu and

Asatsu DK.

The new channel - TVB Dai Fu - is carried on the Sky Perfect platform,

which is a direct-to-home satellite television monopoly in Japan.

TVB International is targeting Chinese living in Japan as well as

Japanese who are interested in Chinese-language programming.

Its assistant general manager, Terry Mak, said: "With the programme

line-up, we expect to reach no less than 50,000 households not long

after the launch."

A quarter of subscribers are expected to be Japanese viewers. He

expected the channel would earn the bulk of its revenues from

subscriptions, which has been pegged at US$25 a month.

The station has rolled out a print campaign in Chinese-language

newspapers in Japan.

The move represents another step in TVB's strategy to expand its role

from content provider to pay-television operator, setting up channels

and distributing its programmes in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.