bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Television viewers in the  Pearl River Delta are being targeted with a daily diet of free dim sum, in this case a viewing feast rather than tasty edibles, according Szeto Kit, the chief executive  of newly established satellite television broadcaster Dim Sum Channel.

Dim Sum, a Cantonese TV channel providing lifestyle and information programmes for the  delta, will debut in the first quarter next year through PCCW Now Broadband TV and be available free of charge.

The channel is owned by Guangdong Hong Kong Media Group,  a Hong Kong private company. Mr Szeto said he and Pong Chun-yee are the only two shareholders.

'Mr Pong and I have experience doing TV-related business in China and we want to build up a TV channel in Cantonese to serve the region and overseas Chinese,' Mr Szeto said on Monday.

The initial investment for Dim Sum is about HK$400 million and the company aims to break even within three years, he said.

The channel's Hong Kong office is at the  Tai Po headquarters of satellite service provider APT Satellite and programmes will be transmitted via the APT Star VI satellite, covering the Asia-Pacific region.

Market sources said the channel was partnered with Guangdong-based Southern Media Group for programme production.

'The channel will have 160 staff in Guangzhou and all the studios will be there,' Mr Szeto said. Dim Sum will produce 40 per cent of the programmes it needs and the balance will be acquired from other content providers. Mr Szeto said the channel will invest 35 per cent of its revenue into programme production.

Mr Szeto also indicated that the channel will apply for broadcast  landing rights in Guangdong province, although this might take a long time. Foreign-owned TV channels such as Hong Kong-based TVB and News Corp's Xing Kong Wei Shi are approved by the central government to air in Guangdong.

the beat goes on

Richard Li Tzar-kai's PCCW Mobile, trying to make up for being a latecomer to the  third-generation mobile service market, is offering an unlimited pop music streaming service at HK$68 per month to attract new users from rivals.

PCCW Mobile yesterday launched MOOV on mobile which allows subscribers to listen to more than 60,000 songs from 19 music labels through live streaming technology.

By clicking on a phone's MOOV icon, users select a play-list of songs and music is aired through the mobile network.

PCCW will bundle the service into its 3G mobile tariff plans. For example, users paying HK$198 each month will get 4,000 streaming minutes on MOOV on top of 4,000 minutes mobile  Now TV air time, plus 4,400 voice  minutes mobile  Now TV air time.

The HK$68 package with a one-year commitment gives unlimited MOOV music minutes plus 100 minutes air time.

'As the market competes fiercely on voice tariff, we should differentiate ourselves by offering new services such as music streaming to attract users,' PCCW Mobile senior vice-president Melanie Lee said yesterday.

Media Eye tried the service and the sound quality was much better than expected. Janice Lee, PCCW television and content executive vice-president, said the sound quality outperforms other mobile music platforms. Users can edit their own play-list on the company's website and the chosen songs will be played automatically on the mobile.

Unlike other mobile operators' mobile music strategy of offering packages on a pay-per-download basis, PCCW has adopted  a flat rate plan.

'Hong Kong people love the flat rate plan very much. Such worry-free streaming should help to boost the usage of the new service,' Ms Lee said.

Mobile users pay HK$10 to HK$15 for each song through legal download platforms.

To promote the new service, PCCW Mobile started a television commercial campaign yesterday featuring radio host Jan Lamb and  pop singers such as Eason Chan, Joey Yung and Fiona Sit.



New satellite channel to offer tasty lifestyle morsels in Cantonese