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Promotors for LeEco, formerly Letv, tout their services on the street in Causeway Bay. Photo: Bruce Yan
The launch of ViuTV has intensified the TV war in Hong Kong, as the ratings of TVB prime time programmes dipped and other competitors stepped up promotions with half-naked models in a busy street of the city yesterday.
ViuTV went on the air last Wednesday, after the exit of the 59-year-old ATV. It greeted local audiences with popular Korean drama seriesDescendants of the Sunand much-hyped reality showTravel with Rivalsduring its prime time.
Media analysts said the fluctuation of TVB’s audience ratings was mainly caused by the new entrant, but others believed it was too soon to draw such conclusion.
According to TV rating firm Nielsen, the ratings of TVB’s Jade prime time programme from April 4 to 8 dropped 0.2 points compared with the same period last week. One point equals 64,910 viewers.
The rating of its TV series theLast Healer in Forbidden Citysaw an obvious decline, losing an average of 110,000 viewers per night compared with the previous week. It collided with the time when ViuTV’s Korean drama series
Descendants of the Sunbroadcast.
TVB’s news programme at 7pm last Wednesday – the same day ViuTV officially launched – also suffered a 3.3-point drop compared with the previous week.
But other programmes were largely unaffected, with some even seeing a slight improvement.
“We have to see the rating of ViuTV to draw a conclusion,” said Tsang Sing-ming, a spokesman at TVB told thePost. He said other factors such as school examinations might also affect its ratings.
“The rapid development of technology has put TVB in the competition with programmes produced all over the world,” he said, adding the traditional regional boundaries of TV stations had faded away.
Despite TVB’s global ambition, To Yiu-ming, professor at Baptist University said the younger audiences would turn toViuTV’s popular overseas TV series, leading to a change of watching patterns among other family members – as they usually watch together at home.
“People watch TVB dramas only because they have no other choice,” said To, adding the troubled ATV had failed to produce any competitive shows for at least five years.
Professor Anthony Fung Ying-him, at Chinese University’s school of journalism and communication said TVB had experienced a loss of audiences regardless of the new entrant, but added its core audience had stabilised over the past few decades.
At the same time, mainland based over-the-top TV programme provider LeEco stepped up its efforts in the Hong Kong market – by deploying half-naked muscle models to sell its exclusive Premier League TV plans. Free TV sets will be given to customers who purchase the plans.
(SCMP)
