Hong Kong’s TVB reduces losses by 5.5% to HK$763 million
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Hong Kong’s biggest free-to-air broadcaster, TVB, reduced its net loss by 5.5% year on year to HK$763 million in 2023. This marks the sixth consecutive year of losses for TVB. The company attributed the reduction in losses to cost-cutting measures amid a sluggish advertising market. TVB's total revenue, excluding e-commerce businesses, increased by 4% to HK$2.83 billion, driven by revenue growth in Hong Kong TV broadcasting and mainland China operations. However, e-commerce revenue shrank by 44% to HK$486 million due to a weak retail market and shifts in consumer habits. TVB implemented cost-cutting efforts, including layoffs, resulting in a 13% drop in headcount to 3,496 employees. TVB chairman Thomas Hui To expressed cautious optimism for the growth and recovery of the Hong Kong TV broadcasting business segment in 2024. The company expects to achieve positive Ebitda over the whole year of 2024 by optimizing its cost structure and closely monitoring content costs and general and administrative overheads. TVB experienced a strong recovery in its mainland Chinese operations in the second half of 2023 due to co-productions and dramas produced or aired under a deal with platforms Youku and Tencent Video. TVB has faced challenges such as plummeting viewer numbers and advertising revenues, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and issues stemming from the 2019 anti-government protests. However, TVB may benefit from Alibaba Group's plan to invest at least HK$5 billion in Hong Kong's culture and film industries over the next five years. TVB will continue to work with Youku to produce TV dramas and is set to release dramas such as Forensic Heroes VI: Redemption, Darkside of the Moon, The Queen of Castle, and The Queen of News 2.
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