Successful TV-licence applicant PCCW announced yesterday it would invest more than HK$1.3 billion in its new free-to-air station in its first six years.
But sports enthusiasts would have to wait to see if mega events such as the Barclays Premier League would be shown on the free channels.
The government has granted an approval in principle to the applications of PCCW's HK Television Entertainment Company and i-Cable's Fantastic Television for free-to-air TV licences while rejecting that of HKTV's.
PCCW's HK$1.3 billion six-year budget exceeds Fantastic TV's "over HK$1 billion" as stated in the station's 2010 proposal to the government.
While HKTV chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay said his company had HK$2 billion of cash, PCCW has a market capitalisation of HK$25.2 billion, more than 13 times that of HKTV's.
Filming of PCCW's first drama series, the 40-episode Empress Wei Zifu, has been completed, with a production cost of over HK$60 million.