Hong Kong broadcaster TVB names Charles Chan as new chairman

Deal-maker Charles Chan Kwok-keung has been appointed as the new chairman of TVB, the city's dominant free-to-air television broadcaster.

The announcement was made yesterday with Norman Leung Nai-pang, 74, current executive chairman of the station's board and the chairman of the executive committee, set to retire on January 1.

The news came as TVB's beleaguered rival ATV was still struggling to pay November salaries while awaiting the government's verdict on the renewal of its licence to broadcast. Both ATV's and TVB's licences expire in November next year.

ATV's news staff plan to release a statement on Monday, vowing to stop work on December 30 or 31 if they are still unpaid.

Chan, 59, will assume both of Leung's positions at TVB. He was appointed a non-executive director of TVB in April 2011 after leading a group of investors to buy Shaw Brothers' stake in the broadcaster for HK$6.26 billion.

The investors also included Taiwanese entrepreneur Cher Wang Hsiueh-hong, co-founder of smartphone maker HTC, and Providence Equity Partners, a US private equity company that manages US$22 billion in capital and investments worldwide.