Television Broadcasts (TVB) plans to launch a channel in Japan next month, according to a company official.
TVB is set to offer a round-the-clock Mandarin-language channel with the help of a local partner, Dai Fu. The co-branded channel will be carried on the Sky Perfect platform and target an audience of 20,000 to 50,000.
General entertainment satellite channel TVB8 at present supplies a one-hour programme each day to a Chinese TV station in Japan that reaches 23,000 subscribers. Japan, otherwise, is an untapped market for TVB and the tie-up with Dai Fu will help it to expand into the richest country in the region.
Dai Fu, granted a licence to run a Chinese culture channel early this year, is backed by Fuji Television Network, Sony Broadcast Media, advertising agencies Dentsu and Asatsu-DK, and other strategic investors. TVB will own the new channel and supply most of the content, while Dai Fu will compile the signals and be responsible for marketing and sales.
TVB's channel operations business generated HK$254.24 million, or 16 per cent, of the company's turnover for the six months to June 30. However, it lost HK$75.03 million.
While TVB has successfully distributed TV programmes and channels in Asian countries such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, its role has changed from content provider to pay-TV operator in Western countries.