‘It’s a treasure’: Chinese firm LeEco wants to buy ATV’s news library as part of push into Hong Kong
Negotiations stalled due to pending court battles and chaotic situation at ailing broadcaster
Mainland Chinese entertainment company LeEco has negotiated with Asia Television on the acquisition of the ailing broadcaster’s news library in order to strengthen its Hong Kong content as part of its expansion into the city.
The South China Morning Post has learnt that LeEco, formerly known as LeTV, had an initial discussion with ATV at the end of January regarding the potential acquisition of its vast library containing news footage covering nearly six decades of history in Hong Kong and the region.
But the negotiations did not proceed further due to ATV’s chaotic ownership situation and pending court battles, said Mok Chui-tin, the company’s Asia-Pacific chief executive.
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“We are very interested in history materials, and ATV’s archive, both news and other programmes, is a treasure,’ Mok told the Post.
“We did not take the negotiation further. We want to wait for the situation at ATV to be clarified first. We have to protect ourselves,” he said.
We are very interested in history materials, and ATV’s archive, both news and other programmes, is a treasure.
Mok said LeEco aims to boost its original Hong Kong content in order to strengthen its foothold in the city. He said that besides producing drama series and adapting English Premier League content to local tastes, documentaries and historic programmes will be another highlight.
“Hong Kong has too few of these programmes. To traditional TV stations, it is difficult to justify the production of these programmes because they do not bring in a lot of advertising dollars,” Mok said.