TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited is a Hong Kong television network that began broadcasting on 19 November 1967. It operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese service, and TVB Pearl as its main English service. Since 2003, TVB has been headquartered at TVB City in the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. Historically a cultural powerhouse in the Chinese-speaking world, TVB is known for its television dramas, the Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International pageants, and for launching the careers of many Hong Kong actors and artists.
History
Origins
The British Hong Kong government set up a working party in the early 1960s to study the idea of setting up a second television station in Hong Kong, where the only television at that time was the wired, subscription-supported Rediffusion Television. There was debate as to whether the second station should be set up as a Crown corporation, like the BBC; a purely commercial enterprise; or a combination of the two. Another challenge lay in procuring enough content for the new station. In 1962, Director of Information Services J. L. Murray stated that while English programming could be purchased from other countries, "no country is producing a mass of suitable pre-recorded material in Chinese". Even though Hong Kong was already regarded as a centre for film production, it was considered a challenge to source enough Chinese-language content for another television station, as most of it would need to be produced in Hong Kong.Regardless, there was commercial interest in the concept. A government franchise for a new wireless television station was opened for tenders on 6 February 1965 and closed on 6 August 1965. TVB, incorporated on 26 July 1965, was co-founded by Sir Run Run Shaw, chairman from 1980 to 2012, Sir Douglas Clague and Harold Lee Hsiao-wo of the Lee Hysan family. On 25 January 1966 it was announced that Television Broadcasts Limited had won the franchise.
At its launch, the TV station was promoted in Chinese as “Wireless Television” to distinguish it from the cable broadcaster RTV, which later became ATV and switched to free-to-air broadcasting. “Mou Sin” remains the most common name for the station in Hong Kong, while outside the city it is generally known as TVB.
Opening
The new Television Broadcasts Limited station at 77 Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon was officially opened by Governor David Trench on 19 November 1967. The governor spoke of the potential for television to better society, stating that the new station would play a significant role in "helping and enlighting our people", calling television "one of the most potent means of disseminating information there is".The first images shown on the station were a live transmission of the Macau Grand Prix, which began broadcasting at 9:00 am that day and was interrupted by footage of the opening of the new station. The first colour broadcast was then made, a feature called "London Calling Hongkong" which constituted greetings from former governors Alexander Grantham and Robert Black. Following this was a piano recital by Chiu Yee-ha, who had also performed at the opening of the Hong Kong City Hall.
The new station broadcast both Cantonese-language and English-language channels. The Cantonese channel, called TVB Jade, began regular service on 4:30 pm that day on Channel 21, while the English service began at 6:00 pm on Channel 25. The inaugural programming lineup included Enjoy Yourself Tonight, a Chinese language variety show, and Meet The Press, an English current affairs programme.
Infrastructure development
Hong Kong's mountainous topography posed a challenge to TVB, which was Hong Kong's first television station broadcast wirelessly, using a terrestrial television transmitter instead of a complex coaxial cable network. A network of transmitters, built atop various mountains, helped provide coverage to the territory. The main transmitter was built at Temple Hill, above Kowloon, to reach most of the main populated centre of Hong Kong as well as parts of the New Territories. Two broadcast relay stations were came into operation on 15 May 1968: one at Lamma Island expanded coverage to Pok Fu Lam, Aberdeen, Repulse Bay, and parts of Stanley, while another at Castle Peak covered Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, and Ping Shan.A third booster station, located on Cloudy Hill, was activated in June 1968 and brought TVB reception to Fanling, Taipo, and Sheung Shui.
Development
- TVB receives praise for its programming from a wide range of demographics, including the middle class, as was the case with its 2004 historical drama series War and Beauty. Its programme line-up features a steady stream of soap operas, variety shows and other populist fare.
- TVB has been criticised for signing exclusive contracts with many local celebrities which restrict them from appearing on other local television stations. Hong Kong Cable Television claims it is unfair competition. In fact, many artists do not have exclusive contracts with TVB and are free to show up in programmes produced by other local television stations or out-sourcing production houses.
- The annual TVB Music Awards ceremony is one of the biggest for Cantopop personalities. It is widely rumoured that TVB distributes the awards to those who are obedient to the company's demands, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption has investigated the arrangement of the awards. It ruled that three TVB staff members under scrutiny were not guilty. Afterwards, TVB reformed its music programmes in a bid to reestablish their authority.
- On the other hand, TVB was awarded the National Association of Broadcasters's International Broadcasting Excellence Award in 2001. The award recognised the company's outstanding contributions to the community through a wide range of charitable programmes and activities. Hong Kong thus becomes the first city in Asia to receive this prestigious award in this area.
- In 2005, TVB, in association with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, organised the biggest fund-raising campaign in the company's history in response to South-East Asia's devastating tsunami. It raised over one hundred million Hong Kong Dollars to assist those affected.
- In 2000, TVB Australia was established for the Australian market with a 17 channel satellite service. Which has over 25,000 households and over 1,500 commercial outlets with an audience of over 130,000 daily.
- From 31 March 2008, TVBS-Europe launched their "Multi-channel" package in Europe. It consists of 5 different channels which include the existing TVBS-Europe Channel plus the addition of TVBN, TVB Entertainment News, TVB Classic and TVB Lifestyle.
Location
To cope with future development and expansion, TVB began planning in 1998 to develop a replacement facility at the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. The new HK$2.2 billion TVB City came into full operation in October 2003. The new headquarters are built on by far the largest piece of land ever leased by the then Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation and the first service-providing company in the area. It has a building area of over 110,000 square metres, 30% more than that of the previous facilities at Clear Water Bay. Studio 1 in TVB City, which can seat an audience of six hundred and thirty, is the largest television production studio among commercial television stations in Asia.
News operation
TVB broadcasts several news programmes, such as News at 6:30 and News at 7:30. It also operates its own news channel, TVBN. and TVBN2, through TVB Network Vision.Subsidiaries
77 Atelier Limited, rebranded from TVB New Wings Limited in 2022, is a Hong Kong-based television drama production studio and a subsidiary of TVB. The company uses a small-team, project-based production model, focusing on story-driven content and incorporating external collaborators, representing a different approach from TVB's traditional in-house production system. In addition to its in-house productions, 77 Atelier collaborates with mainland Chinese streaming platforms, including Youku and Tencent, for drama production and content distribution. As of 2025, Shu-kai Chung serves as the executive producer.TVB Music Group Limited is a Hong Kong record label and a subsidiary of TVB. Prior to its establishment, TVB's music-related operations were managed by TVB Music Limited, which was incorporated in 2004 and handled the production and distribution of television soundtracks. The present-day TVB Music Group originated from Stars Shine International, an independent music label founded by producer Herman Ho. In October 2013, TVB acquired a stake in Stars Shine International to form a new music venture focused on producing television soundtracks and managing artists from TVB's singing competitions. The joint venture was launched in November 2013 as The Voice Entertainment Group, named after TVB programmes such as The Voice and The Voice of the Stars. Stars Shine International was dissolved by the end of 2013, with its artists and operations absorbed into the new company. Herman Ho served as chief executive officer until his resignation in February 2021 during a period of broader management restructuring at TVB. In October 2021, the company launched the sublabel All About Music to support artists from the Stars Academy singing competition. In April 2022, the company was rebranded as TVB Music Group following further leadership changes and corporate restructuring.