TVBS spokesperson Shelly Yeh told Media that the company is planning retrenchments, even if exact numbers are still unclear.
“It is true that our company has such a plan,” said Yeh. “And it is to increase the efficiency of our operations.”
“It is true that our company has such a plan,” said Yeh. “And it is to increase the efficiency of our operations.”
Until now, TVBS has been viewed as the strongest, and indeed the only one of the island’s broadcasters to have been insulated from the market’s economic downturn.
TVBS, which operates three channels, TVBS, TVBS-G and TVBS-N, had a staff of 959 as of 30 April, 2006, according to its annual report.
Local press reports indicate that the channel has to eliminate 10 per cent of its staff to staunch a monthly revenue shortfall of NT$50 million (US$1.5 million).
TVBS’ advertising revenue dropped 13 per cent to $2.3 billion for the first nine months of this year, versus $2.7 billion for the same period of 2006, according to adspend data from Rainmaker-XKM International.
Yet, even with this drop, TVBS’ revenue nearly equaled the combined $2.6 billion earned by Taiwan’s four terrestrials, CTV, CTS, TTV and FTV during the same period.
According to Rainmaker-XKM’s figures, terrestrial TV saw adspend plunge 52 per cent to a combined $2.6 billion during the first nine months of this year. In contrast, cable TV adspend grew by 3.7 percent to $18.1 billion.
“This year, we had to adjust the rate cards, especially for terrestrial TV, because of the prevalence of special deals,” said Susie Wong, assistant to the chairman of Rainmaker-XKM. “For example, a lot of off-prime slots are given away for free to buyers of primetime.”
The drop in adspend also means that product placement and production fees for public service announcements are now important sources of income for Taiwan’s terrestrials.
Meanwhile, TVBS is losing its older audience to Sanli, a cable TV group with three channels.
“Sanli has invested in new stars and inhouse production, and this has allowed it to hang on to both the older and younger audience,” said Carat associate VP Roger Chiang.