Star plans to offer pay-TV programmes
Satellite television operator Star TV plans to offer pay-television services in Hong Kong by the end of the year.
The company, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, sells block programming to cable operators all over Asia.
Its offerings include Channel V, a rival to music channel MTV, as well as news, movie and sports programming. In the mainland, Star TV also runs the joint venture Phoenix TV station, which Star TV executive chairman Gareth Chang said was China's most popular.
The Hong Kong pay-TV service would have between 40 and 60 stations, Mr Chang said during a speech to members of a Hong Kong aerospace industry group.
'It will probably be some of the best programming you have seen,' he said.
'Unless we get the best, we will not be able to dominate the pay-TV market in Hong Kong.' The only company now offering pay-TV services in the SAR is Wharf Holdings unit Hong Kong Cable, which claims 420,000 subscribers.
The move to pay-TV services followed completion a few months ago of Star TV's conversion to digital content in Hong Kong, Mr Chang said.
Australian conglomerate News Corp owns 40 per cent of Britain's BSkyB pay-TV service.
Since News Corp opened an office in Beijing in April, Star TV has doubled its offerings there to 10 channels. Of the 280 million mainland homes with television, 75 million are connected to cable, making cable penetration there the fastest in the world, Mr Chang said.
In addition to the mainland, Star TV considers India and Taiwan key target markets.
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