Fox to boost Hong Kong television industry with US$1m-per-episode miniseries

American giant 21st Century Fox will give Hong Kong's television industry a major shot in the arm with a massive investment in making programmes in the city for the Asian and international market.

The company's Fox International Channels will spend US$1 million per episode on one or two miniseries per year in the city, using Hong Kong production talent and local stars. The first two will go into production this year.

It is one of the biggest investments ever by a Western firm in television production in Asia. One local expert said it would help the city's television industry - once a regional powerhouse - regain ground on its rivals.

Cora Yim, senior vice-president of Fox International Channels, told the South China Morning Post that a year and a half of development had gone into the first two shows. The first title, Guilty as Sin, is said to be set in Hong Kong and tell a local story in Chinese. The second is said to have an "Asian scale" and will be shot primarily in English for an audience both within and beyond the region, Yim said.

"We plan to produce premium miniseries; high-concept television made by film talents from here," said Yim, who serves as the channels' head of Chinese entertainment and territory head for Hong Kong. "Many film directors in Hollywood are producing television but this has yet become a trend in Asia. We want to bring US standards to Asia."

The main platform for the new series - which will be six to eight episodes long - will be Star Chinese Movies, a Fox subscription channel available in much of Asia. The channel previously launched an initiative called Go Local! to produce films for local audiences in Asia. In Hong Kong, that led to a partnership with Emperor Motion Pictures to produce edgy films with an eye on a local, rather than mainland, audience.