‘I’m very dissatisfied with TVB’s performance,’ says Chinese media tycoon Li Ruigang

TVB has suffered plummeting advertising revenues in recent years, plagued by the social unrest movement and the Covid-19 pandemic

Li says business conditions at TVB is ‘worrying’ and station needs ‘radical reforms; praises for frontline team for ‘fair and balanced’ coverage under duress

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The TVB building in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: Martin Chan

Published: 2:00pm, 7 Apr 2021Updated: 2:40pm, 7 Apr 2021

When Li Ruigang met Hong Kong’s media in October 2016, the Chinese mogul had high hopes for the city’s dominant free-to-air broadcast network Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). The half-century old network, which Li ultimately controls, has been the dominant force for Cantonese speakers all over the world since its hey day in the 1980s and keeps the largest catalogue of drama and films in the dialect.

Fast forward four and half years, and Li’s initial optimism is a distant memory. He said he is dissatisfied with TVB’s performance, so much so that it bore reiterating three times in 90 minutes. A “radical reform” is needed at the company, he said.

“Speaking as a director and the largest shareholder, TVB’s business conditions have been worrying,” Li said in an interview with South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. “From people’s mindset, the business system, its development strategy, content creation to facilities … from hardware to software, TVB is far behind the industry’s standards.”

TVB has been suffering from plummeting advertising revenues in recent years, plagued by the social unrest movement and the Covid-19 pandemic. Advertising revenue from Hong Kong TV broadcasting plunged by 54 per cent to HK$881 million last year, even though business improved in the second half. Net loss was HK$281 million, compared with a net loss of HK$295 million in 2019.

Li Ruigang, Chairman and CEO of CMC, photographed in Central on March 29, 2021. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Li, through his Shanghai-based media conglomerate CMC Inc, has an indirect share in TVB after his company bought an undisclosed stake in the broadcaster’s largest shareholder, Young Lion Holdings, in April 2015.