Troubled ATV's 'Cheer Up' variety show is a ratings flop

There was singing, dancing and even scenes of legislators declaring support for ATV staff to soldier on as free labour.

But the beleaguered station's desperate clutching at straws last week to salvage its reputation flopped dismally as its prime-time variety show, Cheer Up for ATV, recorded only one television rating point - a fraction of the viewing ratings at rival TVB.

Artists performed on stage for free even with their December pay still nowhere in sight, drawing kudos from Beijing-loyalist lawmakers despite Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung's repeated condemnations of ATV over its multiple wage delays.

ATV employees working without pay were a "manifestation of the Lion Rock spirit", Ann Chiang Lai-wan, vice-chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said at the live show.

Business and Professionals Alliance legislator Dr Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, who had previously sat on the judging panel of an ATV show, praised the staff on camera, saying: "No one can believe what you are doing."

Even TVB contract artists and Now TV hosts appeared in short clips to voice their support.