CTF Media eyes events expansion as traditional TV and broadband growth stagnates

Revamped CTF Media and Entertainment, which holds one of Hong Kong’s three free-to-air television licences, plans to expand its focus beyond TV programmes and broadband to entertainment and the sports economy as its traditional businesses stagnate.

Revealing the new logo of the company previously known as i-Cable Communications, CEO and executive director Ivy Wong Nga-fan listed its five core areas going forward: event organisation and investment; celebrity merchandising and e-commerce; integrated market solutions; broadband and television.

“The five pillars will help us expand our revenue, and we are looking to develop new business models in every area,” she said.

CTF Media and Entertainment was renamed in August and is controlled by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, the private investment venture of the family of tycoon Henry Cheng Kar-shun.

The private company also controls New World Development and the operator of Hong Kong’s flagship Kai Tak Sports Park.

On Tuesday, the government renewed the free-to-air television licence of i-Cable HOY, a subsidiary of CTF Media and Entertainment, for 12 years, alongside those of TVB and HK Television Entertainment Company, which operates ViuTV.

The investment amount pledged by i-Cable HOY for the first six years of the renewed period was the lowest among the three, standing at HK$950 million (US$121 million), compared with HK$6.2 billion by TVB and HK$2.3 billion by HK Television Entertainment.

Wong said on Thursday that the HK$950 million was the minimum amount and the actual investment would be higher.

She added that the company’s focus had switched from cost-cutting to revenue expansion after she became CEO in January.

“Objectively, we cannot expand our broadband business by much as the internet population of Hong Kong is stable, so this is be a lukewarm sector. Television, likewise, will not offer much growth either,” she said.

“So we will keep these two core sectors and grow them slowly, and seek big expansion in our new businesses.”

Wong said she expected the event sector would become the company’s largest source of income, but it would also look at cultivating an ecosystem surrounding major events, including artist collaborations, merchandise retail and hosting post-event parties.

The licence renewals also came with new requirements, with authorities doubling the weekly minimum time for national education content to one hour. Licensees must also air English-language shows to “tell the good stories of Hong Kong” for at least one hour per week.

Asked how the company would fulfil these requirements, Wong said that while its free TV channels would continue to promote national education, the requirement for English-language shows aligned with its strategy.

“Our chairman had always believed that telling good stories of Hong Kong should not be done in Cantonese, but in a way comfortable with foreigners,” she said. “That is why we have been investing in English-language programme production.”

Wong added that these programmes would feature Cantopop, local culture, tourism and cuisine.

The company will also revamp its three free TV channels later this month, with its current English finance channel HOY76 to be transformed into a sports-focused channel, supplemented with news and finance programmes in English.

Wong said the decision was made after seeing a huge demand for sports among local audiences, especially following the recent Asian Games in Japan, for which i-Cable HOY was the sole franchised broadcaster in Hong Kong.

The other two channels, HOY77 and 78, will focus on entertainment and news, respectively.