Hong Kong's pay-television operators hope to expand their subscriber base, despite cut-throat competition, ahead of the arrival in the market of a major rival at the end of the year.
Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN), a subsidiary of City Telecom (CTI), said yesterday it would expand its channel base from 11 to more than 40. The extra service will include three pornography, four education and six news channels.
Pricing was expected to remain at $98 a month, which analysts said would lead to direct competition with PCCW's NOW Broadband TV, which also offers pay-TV content over an Internet platform.
The dominant fixed-line operator yesterday said it had more than 40,000 registered users, with more than half of them coming from its existing broadband customer base.
However, HKBN and CTI chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay said the registered number did not reflect reality because many people - including himself - lived in areas with no access to NOW's pay-TV network.
'Content is king. But network is queen,' he said. 'You need both for a pay-TV operation.'
HKBN now has coverage over 100,000 homes, mainly in the New Territories. Mr Wong expected to reach 300,000 to 400,000 homes by the end of the year but he declined to give subscriber numbers.