Hong Kong's TVB rolls out Chinese channel in Japan

<p>TOKYO: Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts' overseas arm TVB </p><p>International has launched a 24-hour Mandarin-language entertainment </p><p>channel in Japan with the help of local partner, Dai Fu, which comprises </p><p>Fuji Television, Sony Broadcast, Kycoera and ad agencies Dentsu and </p><p>Asatsu DK. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The new channel - TVB Dai Fu - is carried on the Sky Perfect platform, </p><p>which is a direct-to-home satellite television monopoly in Japan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TVB International is targeting Chinese living in Japan as well as </p><p>Japanese who are interested in Chinese-language programming. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Its assistant general manager, Terry Mak, said: "With the programme </p><p>line-up, we expect to reach no less than 50,000 households not long </p><p>after the launch." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A quarter of subscribers are expected to be Japanese viewers. He </p><p>expected the channel would earn the bulk of its revenues from </p><p>subscriptions, which has been pegged at US$25 a month. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The station has rolled out a print campaign in Chinese-language </p><p>newspapers in Japan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The move represents another step in TVB's strategy to expand its role </p><p>from content provider to pay-television operator, setting up channels </p><p>and distributing its programmes in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>