TVB has been whining about small profit margins and the tough battle for advertising for Pearl for long enough, so it comes as no surprise to learn that Citylife (Pearl, 8pm) has finally got the chop. Before Jacqui Stafford and Maria Chen fans start panicking, there are four episodes left until the credits roll for the last time on May 27.
TVB has decided to replace it, in the short term at least, with The Pearl Report, which is currently buried in a useless 6.50pm slot on Fridays. Good news for Diana Lin and her team, who know that their programme is guaranteed by the terms of TVB's current licensing agreement with the Government.
In contrast, there is no statutory requirement to provide vacuous advertorial and puff disguised as an entertainment and lifestyle magazine, hence the demise of Citylife and its little sister, Pearl Entertainment (Pearl, 7.58pm).
The only real surprise is that TVB has decided to justify the culling as an editorial decision rather than a financial one.
A straight-faced spokeswoman assures me that this is part of a masterplan to give TVB Pearl a 'new programme strategy' and absolutely nothing to do with money.
Although even Jacqui's mum would probably agree that Citylife isn't always that wonderful, it probably would have been a lot more tactful for the staff at TVB to have played the 'can't afford it' card. ATV used this with great success to justify dumping Mindy Dhanjal and the kids' show, Tube Time.
Even Mindy knew the station was short of cash, and was understanding about her sacking. The Citylife lot are being told they just aren't what Pearl needs anymore, which is much harder to take.