Internet radio takes off in the city
Stations are thriving thanks to advances in streaming technology and low entry costs
A couple of nights each week, stock broker Calvin Choy Chi-hai heads to a small Wan Chai studio after work to host radio talk shows.
His two programmes - one about wine appreciation and the other about Hong Kong's online radio scene - are among 22 shows produced weekly by RagaZine, the internet radio station he set up in 2012 with station manager Dick Lam Kin-yu.
The first general interest internet radio station in Hong Kong to introduce charges, RagaZine attracts 250,000 listeners each week, 500 of whom pay HK$30 a month for live access to its programmes.
"Dick and I had served as hosts at other online radio stations before. After a while, we decided set up our own so that we could have more control over programming," says Choy.
"We also felt that space for survival of mainstream media was shrinking, so we set up an online platform for people to voice their opinions on issues they care about."
Thanks to advances in streaming technology and a low entry barrier (all you need for a basic set-up is a microphone, sound mixer, and about HK$300 each month to rent a dedicated server), internet radio has mushroomed. Hong Kong is now home to about 50 stations of varying degrees of complexity and sophistication.
But while the first internet radio operators focused on politics and offered free access, some stations are shifting to a fee-charging format. And they are extending their brief to cover a spectrum of subjects the way conventional broadcasters would, veterans of the scene say.