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.
