New income stream, extra local content to help offset tighter advertising market
Television Broadcasts (TVB) plans to boost local content in its free-to-air station - in particular dramas and situation comedies - in a bid to attract sponsors in a flagging advertising market, the company said.
Hong Kong's largest free-to-air television broadcaster estimates advertising revenue will grow just 3 per cent to 5 per cent this year - compared with 9.2 per cent growth in the second half of last year on the back of a revived property market.
'The company is likely to develop more customer-tailored sponsored programmes and product placements to boost sales,' an analyst who met with TVB management said.
Under the product sponsorship deals, suppliers would have their brands displayed prominently in the programmes, creating a new revenue stream for the broadcaster.
Management said revenue from this type of soft selling would account for less than 5 per cent of total terrestrial television business income. For the first half of last year, the group's revenue from advertising came to $828 million - 48 per cent of the total.
