New World Infrastructure (NWI) is planning to spend a further US$100 million this year to give its digital television technology the ability to reach 20 million homes in China.
NWI has already spent about US$300 million and three years developing the digital TV platform technology and expects to have about 200,000 cable TV subscribers in Fujian province by the end of the year.
Managing director Douglas Chan said a unit of the group had recently received approval from Fujian's Radio, Film and Television Bureau to deploy its digital services platform in the province, which has four million cable TV users.
Mr Chan said the NWI had teamed up with Fujian Broadcasting Network Company and NWI's mainland Internet services provider unit Shenzhen New World Xianglong Technology to sell digital TV services developed by US-based PrediWave and valued-added interactive content to cable TV users in Fujian. NWI owns 30 per cent of PrediWave.
Besides Fujian, NWI is also in advanced talks with four other provincial broadcasting networks to provide similar services, which could expand its reach to 20 million cable TV households by the end of this year.
NWI will charge users 35 yuan (about HK$32.80) a month and share content-generated revenue with the network operators.
