Now TV
Encyclopedia
Now TV is a 24-hour pay-TV service provider in Hong Kong
.
It is transmitted through the company's Netvigator
broadband network via an IPTV
service. Launched in September 2003, the service is operated by the leading Hong Kong fixed-line telecom operator Pacific Century Cyberworks Limited (PCCW
), through its subsidiary, PCCW VOD Limited.
The word "Now" is abbreviated from "Network Of the World". Now TV is currently the largest pay-TV operator in Hong Kong.
Due to the liberalization
of the pay-TV market by the HKSAR government in early July 2000, the then existing duopolists, iTV and i-Cable, were confronted with ferocious competition. With fewer subscribers and hence the decline in the revenue generated from iTV, the interactive television operation was terminated in the final quarter of 2002. Now Broadband pay-TV service was officially launched in September 2003 with 23 channels under the same umbrella company PCCW
; iTV is thus commonly viewed as the predecessor of Now TV.
In December 2005, Now TV introduced a technology with connection speed up to 18 megabits per second (Mbit/s). At least 75% of the service area will be offered a service running up to 8Mbit/s. In addition, Video-On-Demand services were launched in January 2006.
Now TV subscribers currently have access to 136 channels.
to view the channels, there is an extra deposit and installation for the decoder. However, these charges are waived for Netvigator broadband
subscribers. With the decoder, households are able to watch approximately 20 free channels.
For the subscription channels, Now uses the pricing model of pay-per-channel basis. There are bundle offers in existence, for given bouquet of channels, but these are less comprehensive than those offered by rivals.
Now TV offers a business package (in which there are fewer channels for subscription than household customers) for businesses at a higher price than household subscribers.
With effect 1 September 2007, NOW TV no longer offers STAR Sports or ESPN as stand-alone packages, preferring instead to bundle them in to a single multi-sport package. This has caused some distress amongst many viewers who view this move as a breach of their commitment contracts that stipulates that upon expiry of channel contracts, contracts are automatically renewed.
The company, to date, has refused to comment on this issue.
In 2006, Now TV outbid i-Cable for the rights to broadcast English Premier League football in Hong Kong, starting with the 2007-08 season.
Now TV currently has the most channels of any pay TV provider in Hong Kong. At present, it offers 21 free channels and 103 pay channels, including 15 audio channels. The total number of channels exceeds 130.
Now TV catogorizes the 25 free channels (denoted by asterisks*), and the 105 pay channels into 9 groups, original channel by Now TV are in bold:
On 10 May 2006, Now TV re-arranged the channel numbers into a category format, where the first digit of the three-digit channel numbers indicates the programme category.
), and French
(TV5MONDE
), is available.
Although Now TV mainly targets high-income viewers, its subscriber numbers have grown sharply. As well as home viewership, the service has been extended to hotel rooms, offices, sports bars and hotels.
According to a report in Ming Pao
Finance on 5 October, 2005, the number of subscribers to Now TV exceeded 450,000. Per annual reports issued by PCCW, at the end of December 2005 the number of paying subscribers to Now TV stood at 549,000 (approximately 61% were paid subscribers, with 31% being free subscribers). These figures compare with totals of 361,000 at end-December 2004 and 269,000 at end-June 2004. Despite the growth in subscribers, Now TV was operating at a loss in 2005. By August 2006, Now TV had in excess of 654,000 subscribers.
Although NOW TV can claim consistent growth in subscriber numbers, quality of service remains 'average' at best. Many viewers report 'jerky' TV reception, slow refresh times when changing channels, and picture freezing extending over several minutes at multiple instances during single programming.
To avoid direct competition with the two local digital terrestrial channels - Television Broadcasts Limited
(TVB) and Asia Television Limited
(ATV
) - Now TV has sought to build up and secure its local pay-TV position by signing long-term contracts with a variety of channels from around the world.
, Now TV was awarded "The Chairman's Award". CASBAA, representing 120 corporations serving more than 3 billion viewers, acknowledged Now TV for its "innovative and proactive marketing of a secure and advanced pay-TV platform and for growing its interactive capability, resulting in a stellar subscriber take-up" on 31 October 2004.
now.com.hk internet content services was launched by PCCW in June 2000 for trial purposes. The website, "now.com.hk
" is Hong Kong's premier broadband service, offering a spectrum of locally relevant content, including news, movies, music, online games, and more. Members can enjoy a large variety of media when accessing the service.
In general, PCCW aims at providing experience of broadband home entertainment, with now.com.hk for personal computer
users and now TV for television viewers, in which the latter tailor-makes content for young people.
Source: Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.COM
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
It is transmitted through the company's Netvigator
Netvigator
Netvigator is the first and largest residential Internet service provider in Hong Kong, operated as a brand of PCCW. The company did offer iTV, an interactive movie television network that allowed users to watch movies on their TV screen by demand. The service ended in 2002...
broadband network via an IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
service. Launched in September 2003, the service is operated by the leading Hong Kong fixed-line telecom operator Pacific Century Cyberworks Limited (PCCW
PCCW
PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
), through its subsidiary, PCCW VOD Limited.
The word "Now" is abbreviated from "Network Of the World". Now TV is currently the largest pay-TV operator in Hong Kong.
History and Establishment
Launched in March 1998, PCCW's services included a wide range of information and entertainment, such as news, video-on-demand (VOD), music videos, home-shopping, home-banking and educational content. iTV had some 67,000 subscribers at the end of 2000.Due to the liberalization
Liberalization
In general, liberalization refers to a relaxation of previous government restrictions, usually in areas of social or economic policy. In some contexts this process or concept is often, but not always, referred to as deregulation...
of the pay-TV market by the HKSAR government in early July 2000, the then existing duopolists, iTV and i-Cable, were confronted with ferocious competition. With fewer subscribers and hence the decline in the revenue generated from iTV, the interactive television operation was terminated in the final quarter of 2002. Now Broadband pay-TV service was officially launched in September 2003 with 23 channels under the same umbrella company PCCW
PCCW
PCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
; iTV is thus commonly viewed as the predecessor of Now TV.
In December 2005, Now TV introduced a technology with connection speed up to 18 megabits per second (Mbit/s). At least 75% of the service area will be offered a service running up to 8Mbit/s. In addition, Video-On-Demand services were launched in January 2006.
Now TV subscribers currently have access to 136 channels.
Chronology
- March 1998 Hong Kong Telecom commercially launched iTV
- July 2000 Liberalisation of the pay-TV market
- Last quarter of 2002 Termination of iTV
- August 2003 Now TV was unveiled
- September 2003 Now TV was officially launched
Charging schemes
Since each household has to install a special decoderDecoder
A decoder is a device which does the reverse operation of an encoder, undoing the encoding so that the original information can be retrieved. The same method used to encode is usually just reversed in order to decode...
to view the channels, there is an extra deposit and installation for the decoder. However, these charges are waived for Netvigator broadband
Netvigator
Netvigator is the first and largest residential Internet service provider in Hong Kong, operated as a brand of PCCW. The company did offer iTV, an interactive movie television network that allowed users to watch movies on their TV screen by demand. The service ended in 2002...
subscribers. With the decoder, households are able to watch approximately 20 free channels.
For the subscription channels, Now uses the pricing model of pay-per-channel basis. There are bundle offers in existence, for given bouquet of channels, but these are less comprehensive than those offered by rivals.
Now TV offers a business package (in which there are fewer channels for subscription than household customers) for businesses at a higher price than household subscribers.
With effect 1 September 2007, NOW TV no longer offers STAR Sports or ESPN as stand-alone packages, preferring instead to bundle them in to a single multi-sport package. This has caused some distress amongst many viewers who view this move as a breach of their commitment contracts that stipulates that upon expiry of channel contracts, contracts are automatically renewed.
The company, to date, has refused to comment on this issue.
Channel Highlights
In the beginning, Now TV only operated 23 channels, most of which were in English. In response to competition, it has expanded its repertoire of new channels, adding programming such as the Disney Channel and ESPN. By June 2005, the number of channels grew to more than 70, with an increased number of Cantonese channels.In 2006, Now TV outbid i-Cable for the rights to broadcast English Premier League football in Hong Kong, starting with the 2007-08 season.
Now TV currently has the most channels of any pay TV provider in Hong Kong. At present, it offers 21 free channels and 103 pay channels, including 15 audio channels. The total number of channels exceeds 130.
Now TV catogorizes the 25 free channels (denoted by asterisks*), and the 105 pay channels into 9 groups, original channel by Now TV are in bold:
- Movie/Drama Series - e.g. Now Hong Kong(#100) HBO HiTSHBO HitsHBO Hits is a multiplex channel of HBO in Asia featuring Hollywood blockbuster movies, regardless of genre. It is currently available in 8 territories: in Hong Kong via now TV, In Taiwan via Total TV and in the Philippines via the SkyCable Platinum plan, In Singapore via StarHub TV, In Indonesia...
(#111), HBO Family (#112), HBO Signature (#114), HBO AsiaHBO AsiaHBO Asia is a franchise of HBO in Asia. HBO Asia is now a joint venture of media giants Viacom and Time Warner . Sony Pictures Entertainment and Universal Studios exited the fifteen year-old HBO Asia premium movie joint venture on January 16, 2008....
(#115), MAX AsiaMAX AsiaMAX Asia is the secondary channel of HBO which only features action and suspense movies like its US counterpart. MAX Asia is headquartered in Time Warner Asia office in Singapore; hence it is subject to the same censorship as HBO Asia.-History:...
(#116), STAR MoviesSTAR MoviesSTAR Movies is an Asian movie channel owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, subsidiaries of News Corporation.-History:STAR Movies was launched on 1 May 1994...
(#117), TCMTurner Classic Movies (Asia)For more information on the international TCM, see Turner Classic Movies.Or the British version, see Turner Classic Movies .Turner Classic Movies is a digital television channel featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros. film libraries, which...
(#119), MGM Channel (#122), Diva Universal (#123), Syfy UniversalSyfy Universal (Asia)Syfy Universal is an Asian cable television channel, launched on July 1, 2008, exclusive programs in science fiction, fantasy and horror and movies. It is owned by NBC Universal Asia Networks...
(#124), China Movie (#134), Mei Ah Movie Channel (#137), STAR Chinese MoviesSTAR Chinese MoviesSTAR Chinese Movies is a Chinese movie channel. It features Chinese films with Chinese stars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng and Stephen Chow...
(#139) - Travel/Documentary - 15 infotainment channels including 7 Discovery Channels, 5 National Geographic ChannelNational Geographic Channel (Asia)The National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated as Nat Geo, is an Asian subscription television channel that features non-fiction, factual programming involving nature, science, culture, and history, produced by the National Geographic Society, just like History and the Discovery...
s, and 5 The History ChannelHistory (South East Asian TV channel)History is an Asian television channel with shows on historical events and persons. The channel is owned by AETN All Asia Networks, a joint-venture between A&E Television Networks, owner of the American History, and Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd.- Company :AETN All Asia Networks was formed on 15 June...
, Bio AsiaBio. (South East Asia)Bio. is a South East Asian television channel dedicating to biography. The channel was launched on May 27, 2008 by AETN All Asia Networks, a joint-venture between A&E Television Networks and Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd in Malaysia.- See also :...
, BBC KnowledgeBBC Knowledge (Worldwide)BBC Knowledge is an international television channel showcasing factual and non-fiction entertainment programming from the BBC and independent UK production houses. Wholly owned by BBC Worldwide, it is not related to the previous channel known as BBC Knowledge, an early digital channel which closed...
and BBC LifestyleBBC LifestyleBBC Lifestyle is an international television channel. The channel provides six key programming strands: Food, Home & Design, Fashion & Style, Health, Parenting, and Personal Development.-Launch dates:...
, which provide a spectrum of animal, geographic, scientific, and historical documentaries - News/Info - including CNN InternationalCNN International Asia PacificCNN International Asia Pacific is the Asia-Pacific edition of the CNN International pay-TV cable network. The feed originates from Hong Kong.CNN International began transmissions in August 1989....
(#316), HLN (#317), Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
(#318), CNBCCNBC AsiaCNBC Asia is a business news television channel in Asia. A subsidiary of NBC Universal, it is the Asian service of the Consumer News and Business Channel . Its programmes originate from Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney and has bureaus in Tokyo and Seoul....
(#319), BBC World News (#320), Bloomberg TelevisionBloomberg TelevisionBloomberg Television is a 24-hour global network broadcasting business and financial news. It is distributed globally, reaching over 200 million homes worldwide. It is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P...
* (#321), Sky NewsSky NewsSky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
(#323), Al Jazeera English* (#325), Now News (#332), Now Business News ChannelNow Business News Channelnow Business News Channel is a 24-hour finance news channel. It is now TV's first self-produced channel, which was launched at 9am on 20 March 2006. The broadcast centre is located in Wanchai, Hong Kong. There is also a broadcast centre in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In addition to live...
(#333) - Kids - Children channels include 3 DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
channels, 2 Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network (Southeast Asia)Cartoon Network is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming.Programming is broadcast in dual-language audio in English language, Chinese language, Thai language, and Malay language with Vietnamese...
channels, and 5 STAR TV and NickelodeonNickelodeon South East AsiaNickelodeon Southeast Asia is a satellite and cable TV channel for children and teenagers. Operated by MTV Networks Asia Pacific and owned by Viacom International....
, CBeebiesCBeebiesCBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
, and KidsCoKidsCoKidsCo is an international children's entertainment brand founded by Canadian broadcaster Corus Entertainment's Nelvana Enterprises, American-based producer DIC Entertainment, and European broadcaster Sparrowhawk Media Group in April 2007. By the end of 2007, Sparrowhawk was purchased by media...
channels: - Music/Entertainment/Shopping - There are in total 2 Shopping and Gaming Channel, 26 Australian and English Lifestyle, Crime, Fantasy, and Entertainment Channel, 27 Chinese Signature Entertainment, Lifestyle and Music, and 5 Chinese and English Flight Music Channels, including Animax AsiaAnimax AsiaAnimax Asia is the Japanese anime TV network Animaxs English language feeds in Southeast Asia and South Asia, as well as its feeds across other regions of mainland Asia, including Hong Kong and Taiwan...
(#511), AXNAXN AsiaAXN Asia is a pay-tv, cable and satellite TV channel owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. It is available in throughout the 18 countries around the Asia-Pacific region...
(#512), Universal ChannelUniversal Channel (Asia)Universal Channel is a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, crime and investigation genres. It is owned by NBC Universal Global Networks...
(#522), Fox CrimeFox Crime (Asia)FOX Crime Asia is an Asian entertainment TV channel, owned and produced by Fox International Channels and distributed by STAR TV. This channel focus on crime and investigation series programs.-Current Programs:* 9MM* Alfred Hitchcock Presents...
(#523), FXFX (Asia)FX Asia is an Asian entertainment TV channel, owned and produced by Fox International Channels and distributed by STAR TV.-Current Programs:*30 Rock*Archer*Big Lake*Californication*In Plain Sight*It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia...
(#524), Asian Food ChannelAsian Food ChannelThe Asian Food Channel is an Asian lifestyle cable and satellite television channel first launched in August 2005. Based in Singapore, AFC currently covers seven markets: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand...
(#527), STAR WorldSTAR WorldSTAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
(#528), BBC EntertainmentBBC EntertainmentBBC Entertainment is an international television channel showcasing comedy, drama, light entertainment and children's programming from the BBC and other UK production houses...
(#529), Crime & Investigation NetworkCrime & Investigation Network (South East Asia)Crime & Investigation Network is an Asian television channel which focuses on crime, investigation and mystery programming. It is run by AETN All Asia Networks, a joint-venture between A&E Television Networks and Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd and was launched on June 15, 2007.It was available initially in...
(#530), E! (#531), GOD TVGOD TVGOD TV is an international Christian television broadcaster that transmits the GOD Channel from Jerusalem.The network’s Free-to-air signal is carried via multiple satellites 24-hours-a-day providing programming at no charge to viewers. This ranges from Bible teaching to motivational seminars,...
(#546), Da Ai Television (#549), MTV Southeast AsiaMTV Southeast AsiaMTV Southeast Asia is a 24-hour music/entertainment television network, owned by MTV Networks Asia Pacific, a division of Viacom. The channel is shown in the Southeast Asia region including Singapore , Malaysia , Hong Kong , Indonesia , Thailand , Vietnam , Philippines MTV Southeast Asia is a...
(#554), Channel [V] InternationalChannel VChannel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
(#555) - Sports - A total of 15 sports channels including Now Sport(#631-637, 660), Goal TVGOALTVGOALTV is a dedicated football network offering Asia audiences coverage of top European football. This includes exclusive live games from three major European leagues as well as behind-the-scenes access to three Premier League clubs in England, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool, in addition...
(#638-639), MUTV (#640), All Sports NetworkAll Sports NetworkAll Sports Network a 24-hour Pan Asian sports channel featuring exclusive coverage of major American sports and other events from around the world including the U.S...
(#680), now Golf (#682), ESPN STAR SportsESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
(#670), STAR SportsSTAR SportsSTAR Sports is a cable sports network owned by STAR TV and ESPN. It shows sports programs. In partnership with ESPN, its corporate name is ESPN STAR Sports. They are the official Asian station of the Barclays Premier League...
(#671), ESPN HD (#672), EurosportEurosportEurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
(#676) - Foreign Language - including NHK World TV* (#710), TV5MONDETV5MONDETV5MONDE is a global television network, broadcasting several channels of French language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union.-History:...
Asie (#714), GMA Pinoy TVGMA Pinoy TVGMA Pinoy TV, incorporated in February 2004 by GMA Network and its subsidiaries GMA International & GMA Worldwide and launched in 2005 primarily in Japan and USA, is a 24-hour international Filipino television station. The channel is targeted towards Overseas Filipino and their families in the...
(#720), STAR NewsSTAR NewsSTAR News is the Hindi language news channel of STAR TV based in Mumbai. The channel is a co-production of STAR Group and ABP Pvt. Ltd...
Hindi news channel (#795) - TVB Pay Vision Special Pack
- Adult - There are 5 adult channels in addition to AV-on-Demand, including Playboy TVPlayboy TVPlayboy TV is a premium monthly subscription television channel. Since its launch in 1982 in partnership with Cablevision which eventually sold their share back to Playboy, Playboy TV has become a leading entertainment channel for adult entertainment...
(#904)
On 10 May 2006, Now TV re-arranged the channel numbers into a category format, where the first digit of the three-digit channel numbers indicates the programme category.
Languages of channels provided
The majority of its programming is in English, Cantonese or Putonghua, though some programming in Hindi (STAR OneSTAR One
STAR One is an Indian television channel that primarily broadcasts Hindi entertainment based in Mumbai. Launched on 1 November 2004 with its show, Remix, the channel gained in popularity with television shows such as Remix, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Nach Baliye, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai,...
), and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
(TV5MONDE
TV5MONDE
TV5MONDE is a global television network, broadcasting several channels of French language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union.-History:...
), is available.
Business Performance and Development
Now TV service was launched with 23 channels in September 2003 but was soon expanded to exceed 30 with the addition of sports-related channels and BBC World and the Animax channel, as well as the Cantonese-language Star Chinese Movies and Xing Kong channels. Within four months of launch, Now TV had attracted more than 200,000 customers by end-2003.Although Now TV mainly targets high-income viewers, its subscriber numbers have grown sharply. As well as home viewership, the service has been extended to hotel rooms, offices, sports bars and hotels.
According to a report in Ming Pao
Ming Pao
Ming Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...
Finance on 5 October, 2005, the number of subscribers to Now TV exceeded 450,000. Per annual reports issued by PCCW, at the end of December 2005 the number of paying subscribers to Now TV stood at 549,000 (approximately 61% were paid subscribers, with 31% being free subscribers). These figures compare with totals of 361,000 at end-December 2004 and 269,000 at end-June 2004. Despite the growth in subscribers, Now TV was operating at a loss in 2005. By August 2006, Now TV had in excess of 654,000 subscribers.
Although NOW TV can claim consistent growth in subscriber numbers, quality of service remains 'average' at best. Many viewers report 'jerky' TV reception, slow refresh times when changing channels, and picture freezing extending over several minutes at multiple instances during single programming.
Strategy
In early July 2000, the HKSAR government awarded five new pay-TV licences. The new entrants were all relatively seasoned broadcasting companies including Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, Hong Kong DTV Company, a British broadcaster Elmsdsale, Hong Kong Network TV and Pacific Digital Media HK. The considerable opening of the market sparked intense competition for programming and viewer share, which can be seen by the extensive use of advertising.To avoid direct competition with the two local digital terrestrial channels - Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
(TVB) and Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
(ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
) - Now TV has sought to build up and secure its local pay-TV position by signing long-term contracts with a variety of channels from around the world.
Exclusivity
- On November 15, 2006, Now TV made a knock-out bid, of an estimated HK$1.56 billion, to secure the license to exclusively broadcast football matches of the Barclays Premier League matches in Hong Kong for three seasons commencing from the 2007/2008 season. Two years previously, i-Cable had paid an estimated HK$700 million for a three-year contract.
- Now TV announced in January 2006 that a three-year deal was signed with ESPN STAR for the rights to live matches of the UEFA Champions League during the 2006-2009 seasons.
- In December 2006 secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the Euro 2008 football championship by agreeing to pay HK$400 million.
- Playboy TV will become exclusive to Now TV from December 1, 2006.
Pricing
i-Cable has been forced to adopt an alternative pricing model for its subscribers. It allows subscribers to pick and choose their own channels, similar to the pay-by-channel of Now. Moreover, from Asia Media in October 2005, Now TV claimed that they will not follow i-Cable to minimize monthly charges since they have added new channels and improved the delivery standard, in order to maintain competitiveness. In December 2006, it announced it was instead planning on raising subscription rates after having secured exclusive rights in the ESPN, Premier League, and Euro 2008.Awards
At the 2004 Convention of CASBAA (Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia)Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia
CASBAA is the association for digital multichannel television, content, platforms, advertising and video delivery across Asia.-Mission:The CASBAA mission is to promote the growth of mulitchannel TV and video content across Asia through industry information, networking exchanges and events while...
, Now TV was awarded "The Chairman's Award". CASBAA, representing 120 corporations serving more than 3 billion viewers, acknowledged Now TV for its "innovative and proactive marketing of a secure and advanced pay-TV platform and for growing its interactive capability, resulting in a stellar subscriber take-up" on 31 October 2004.
Plans
The company had planned to roll out high-definition television (HDTV), which offers up to four times the picture resolution of standard-definition television, in late-2007. But on 19 July, 2007, it unveiled plans to begin HDTV broadcasts ahead of schedule. Included on the first slate of HDTV programming are 90 Premier League football matches. Subscribers will be required upgrade to a new set-top box with a one-off charge of HK$530, pay an additional HK$38/month for set-top box rental, and an additional HK$68/month over and above the existing charge for the "Mega Sports Pack". The new service will require a Netvigator broadband connection of at least 11Mbps.Related Services
- now.com.hk
now.com.hk internet content services was launched by PCCW in June 2000 for trial purposes. The website, "now.com.hk
Now.com.hk
now.com.hk internet content services was launched by Pacific Century Cyberworks in June 2000 for trial purposes. The website is Hong Kong's premier broadband service, offering a spectrum of locally relevant content, including news, movies, music, online games, and more...
" is Hong Kong's premier broadband service, offering a spectrum of locally relevant content, including news, movies, music, online games, and more. Members can enjoy a large variety of media when accessing the service.
In general, PCCW aims at providing experience of broadband home entertainment, with now.com.hk for personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
users and now TV for television viewers, in which the latter tailor-makes content for young people.
External links
- The official site of Now TV
- now.com.hk
- The report from 'The Standard' on Now TV
- PCCW's 2005 Interim Result Presentation
- 'TV's Possible Future -- What's Smart, What's Not', an article by Prof. Gerry Faulhaber, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
- 'WHY BROADBAND IS REDEFINING TV', an article published by BroadcastNow on August 15, 2005
- Hong Kong Annual Reports 2003 - Telecommunications
- TAMWISE issue #02/2005
Source: Pinyin translated with CozyChinese.COM