appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Vivienne Chow

PCCW's free television operation will focus on producing "factual entertainment" instead of fully scripted fictional drama series to attract a younger audience.
Lo Ting-fai, general manager of ViuTV, the telecoms giant's new free-to-air service, wants to target viewers aged between 20 and 50 with shows not available on future heavyweight rival TVB.
"No one medium can satisfy the needs of all any more," Lo said on Thursday. "If drama series are already available in other channels, we should offer something else."
Lo said ViuTV will have 4,000 hours of content for its Cantonese channel ready when the station launches in April - ViuTV has been allocated half the broadcasting spectrum ATV will give up when its licence expires then.
Among the 4,000 hours of content, which does not include news programmes, 2,400 hours will be shows produced by ViuTV. The rest will be acquired programmes, said Lo.
Roughly one third of content will be variety and factual entertainment, said Lo, referring to non- or semi-scripted shows in which personalities are thrown into a situation. The shows will highlight various kinds of human relationships, Lo said.
One series is a travelogue starring 100Most co-founder Lam Yat-hei and legislator Ann Chiang Lai-wan, two figures representing two polarised segments of society - the city's youth and pro-establishment camp.
Another 30 per cent will be programmes covering information, news and business. Twenty per cent will be mostly drama series acquired from elsewhere, with the remaining 20 per cent comprising other programmes including sport, animation and children's shows, Lo said.
PCCW has pledged to invest HK$2.7 billion for the first 10 years of operation. Lo said ViuTV will syndicate news programmes from sister company NowTV, the pay-TV station under PCCW.
He said ViuTV is still working on its programming schedule but rejected suggestions that shows will be scheduled to go head-to-head with TVB.
"We schedule our programmes, not based on what TVB shows, but customer behaviour," Lo said.
"You need to think about what time people get off work, and what they want to do at home after work. They might want to take a shower first before switching on television."


Fact before fiction: New Hong Kong TV station ViuTV to focus on 'factual entertainment' instead of dramas

ViuTV general manager Lo Ting-fai is targeting viewers between the ages of 20 and 50. Photo: Bruce Yan

News

Hong Kong