‘I’m a risk-taker’: head of Hong Kong’s new free-to-air TV station pledges creative programming
A look at the unusual background and ambitious vision of ViuTV general manager Lo Ting-fai
Lo Ting-fai is a man who makes miracles happen. On Wednesday, Lo is to lead a new campaign meant to transform Hong Kong’s dreary television landscape into a vibrant and creative field again.
“I’m a risk-taker,” said Lo, general manager of PCCW’s ViuTV. “Leadership isn’t having a team of people working ‘under’ me. It is about fighting a battle ‘with’ my comrades.”
ViuTV, Hong Kong’s first free-to-air TV station in 37 years, is more than just taking over the role of ATV, which went off-air last Friday.
Political rivals Jasper Tsang and ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung to star in travelogue on new channel ViuTv
ViuTV aspires to challenge TVB’s dominance and bring young audiences back to watching local television productions with creative reality shows, such as its much-hyped Travel with Rivals.
Its Wednesday night premiere is to feature radical lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung going on a charity trip to Poland with long-time political frenemy Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, a veteran of the pro-establishment camp and president of the Legislative Council.
Since its inception in 1967, TVB has dominated the city’s television and entertainment business for decades. Rival ATV might have triumphed in a few battles, but it still failed to challenge TVB’s pre-eminence, despite TVB’s losing more than a million viewers over the past decade.
Nevertheless, Lo might stand a chance at challenging the status quo because he isn’t a typical television man.
