Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a Hong Kong-based broadcaster with a portfolio of five television channels. Its flagship offerings are TVB Jade, which broadcasts in Cantonese, and TVB Pearl, which airs in English.
Media assets
Television: TVB Jade, TVB Pearl, TVB Anywhere, MyTV Super, TVBS, TVBNews, TVB.com, TVB USA
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
TVB is co-owned by a group of private individuals, and some of its shares are publicly floated. The majority shareholder in TVB is a company named Young Lions Holdings Limited, controlled by Charles Chan Kwok-keung, a businessman once described in the media as “Hong Kong’s maverick deal-maker.” One of the other two shareholders of Young Lions is vice-chairman Li Ruigang, who is the founder of China Media Capital. Li Ruigang is a former top official of the Chinese Communist Party who used to work in the Shanghai government, according to news reports.
Source of funding and budget
In 2021, TVB incurred a net loss of HKD 647m (equivalent to US$ 82.7m), primarily due to the acquisition of a local e-commerce platform, according to information from the company. TVB’s primary source of financing is commercial revenue.
In 2022, TVB generated total revenue of HKD 3.6bn (US$ 458m), with the majority of this revenue coming from commercial sales. As detailed in the company’s annual report, the government provided a subsidy of approximately HKD 37.3m (US$ 4.7m) in 2022. In 2023, the company generated revenues of HKD 3.3bn (US$ 421m), primarily due to a decline in the e-commerce division.
Editorial independence
TVB is a privately held company with some shares publicly traded. The majority shareholder in TVB is Young Lions Holdings Limited, a company controlled by Charles Chan Kwok-keung. Chan has been described in the media as “Hong Kong’s maverick deal-maker.”
The other two shareholders of Young Lions are Li Ruigang, the vice-chairman, and China Media Capital, which Mr. Li founded. Li Ruigang is a former senior official of the Chinese Communist Party who previously held a position in the Shanghai government, according to news reports.
TVB’s editorial agenda is subject to significant influence from the Chinese government in Beijing, according to multiple sources, including a study conducted by Clement Y.K. So, professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a report from Hong Kong Watch. The situation has deteriorated in the past two years as a result of increased pressure from Beijing on media outlets in Hong Kong. Over the past two years, instances of overt censorship within TVB have been documented.
To date, no domestic statute and no independent mechanism of assessment or oversight of the editorial independence of TVB have been identified.
September 2024