Not with a bang but a whimper: Hong Kong’s oldest television station, ATV, finally pulls the plug
Cash-strapped broadcaster went off the air at the stroke of midnight, but main investor refuses to call it quits
Hong Kong’s oldest television station went off the air on the stroke of midnight, pulling the plug after years of financial and managerial turmoil as its free-to-air licence expired on Friday.
While the shutdown of Asia Television was the talk of the town, the end came not with a bang but a whimper as the managers of the dying broadcaster kept it low key, despite the crowd of spectators and journalists gathered outside the station’s headquarters in Tai Po throughout the day and late into the night.
After the last newscast in Chinese at 10.30pm, it was back to another re-run of a programme featuring former Miss Asia beauty pageant winners. The signal abruptly went blank on the stroke of midnight, and after a brief snowy screen, public broadcaster RTHK took over with its own 31A and 33A analogue channels. At the same time, ATV’s digital spectrum was taken over by new licensee ViuTV.
During the last newscast, the station sent out a message that it was not over yet as it intended to carry on in a different avatar.
