Can it save the former Hong Kong television giant?, ATV Announces Entry into Live Television | Group | Hong Kong

After TVB, another veteran Hong Kong television giant announced its entry into e-commerce live streaming.

On June 6th, Hong Kong listed company Asia Television Holdings Limited announced that the company will enter the e-commerce live streaming business from June 6th, 2023, which will be operated by two indirectly wholly-owned subsidiaries, Guangxi Asia Television Honghu E-commerce Co., Ltd. and Asia Television Culture Media Co., Ltd.

According to the Tianyancha app, ATV Culture Media Co., Ltd. was established in Shenzhen, Guangdong in 2018. It is a company mainly engaged in the cultural and artistic industry, with a registered capital of HKD 100 million. Founded in Nanning, Guangxi in 2023, Guangxi ATV Honghu E-commerce Co., Ltd. is an enterprise mainly engaged in Internet and related services, with a registered capital of 50 million Hong Kong dollars.

The announcement stated that the board of directors believes that the e-commerce live streaming business, as an auxiliary to the group's media, culture and entertainment business, can increase the sales and market share of the group's media, culture and entertainment business, thereby increasing the group's revenue. The board of directors expects that in addition to the current finished fabric processing, printing and sales, as well as entertainment and media businesses, the e-commerce live streaming business is expected to generate positive revenue for the group's finances in the future.

Affected by the above news, Asia Television Holdings opened up nearly 14% on June 7th. As of the close of the day, the company's stock price was at HKD 0.066 per share, down 8.33%, with a total market value of HKD 721 million.

Public information shows that Asia Television Holdings is currently a network television company under Hong Kong's Xie Sheng Xie Feng. Xiesheng Xiefeng Holding Co., Ltd. is a Hong Kong investment holding company that is located in Chinese Mainland and listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, mainly engaged in fabric processing and sales.

It is reported that the predecessor of Asia Television, "Lido Yingsheng", was founded in 1957. It was the first television station in Hong Kong's history and also the world's first Chinese language television station. At its peak, ATV was once one of the two giants of Hong Kong television, along with TVB. It produced dramas and programs such as "Jingwumen", "Goodbye Sunny Day", "I Have a Date with Zombies", and "Millionaire". The well-known Hong Kong artists who became famous for ATV include Guan Zhilin, Zhang Jiahui, Liming, Zhang Guorong, Li Zhi, Ye Yuqing, Yang Gongru, Wan Qiwen, and so on.

After 2000, Asia Television gradually declined due to poor management and debt crisis, with several changes in ownership. Since then, there have been repeated rumors of salary arrears and bankruptcy. In April 2016, Asia Television officially ceased broadcasting due to failure to renew its free to air television license in Hong Kong. In 2017, Hong Kong listed company Xie Sheng Xie Feng Group became a new investor in ATV, replacing the acquisition of certain equity and debt of ATV. The resurrected "New Asia Television" has transformed from traditional television media to operate through OTT network television and launched a mobile app.

After checking the official website of Asia Television, the image reporter learned that the website mainly serves Asian countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. The content provided is mostly classic dramas from the 1970s to 1980s, as well as a few movies and variety shows shot after 2000.

According to the annual report disclosed by Asia Television Holdings in April this year, the group's revenue in 2022 was 77 million yuan, compared to 159 million yuan in the same period of 2021, a year-on-year decrease of about 51.4%; The net loss was 214 million yuan, and the net loss for the same period in 2021 was 367 million yuan; The attributable loss to shareholders was RMB 184 million, compared to RMB 261 million in the same period of 2021; Basic earnings per share loss of 0.018 yuan.

Picture Asia Television Holdings operates four businesses: fabric and trade, lending, investment and brokerage services, as well as media, culture, and entertainment. In 2022, the media, culture, and entertainment business revenue of the group decreased from 67.2 million yuan in the same period of 2021 to 35.1 million yuan, the fabric and trade business revenue decreased from 76.5 million yuan in the same period of 2021 to 38.3 million yuan, and the securities brokerage services and guaranteed financial asset revenue decreased from 9.9 million yuan in the same period of 2021 to 3.1 million yuan.

The financial report stated that the decrease in revenue from the media, cultural, and entertainment businesses was due to the uncertain economic environment, coupled with fierce market competition, resulting in a significant decrease in sponsorship revenue, as well as filming and screening revenue. Due to the high cost of producing programs and the overall increase in production costs, the loss of this business increased from 16.3 million yuan in the same period of 2021 to 39.6 million yuan in 2022.

Asia Television Holdings stated in its financial report that the group intends to enter the emerging live streaming e-commerce market by making good use of social media platforms, in order to diversify its revenue sources. This strategic move is expected to provide the Group with opportunities to increase revenue sources and expand its customer base, thereby improving the Group's financial performance. The goal is to establish a high-quality e-commerce platform with a strong customer base.

According to the financial report, compared to the 2021 forecast, the group expects its event broadcasting and sponsorship revenue to decrease by 60% to 65% in the next five years in 2022. It is expected that the revenue from strategically utilizing social media platforms to enter the increasingly prosperous live streaming e-commerce market will increase by 13 million to 33 million yuan in the next five years.

In recent years, television broadcasting, which has also suffered operating losses like Asia Television, has taken the lead in entering live streaming sales. Live streaming e-commerce business has become a consistent choice for veteran television media to transform into new media and expand profit channels.

In April 2022, TVB entered Tiktok Live, operated by Shanghai Zhenzhihuo Trading Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Qiqijun Media Co., Ltd., and the cumulative number of fans of three live broadcast accounts with goods is close to 940000.

In March of this year, TVB announced that it had reached a cooperation intention with Taobao through its subsidiary Shanghai Feicui Oriental Communication Co., Ltd. The two sides will cooperate to carry out more than 48 e-commerce live broadcasts within 2023.

On March 7th, TVB's first live streaming sales on Taobao exceeded 23.5 million yuan, with a total of over 3.2 million viewers and over 4.85 million views. On May 31st, the sales of TVB's "Miss Hong Kong Special Session" exceeded 100 million yuan, with a total of nearly 10 million viewers.

As the sales of live streaming products on Taobao hit new highs, the company's stock price also surged in response. Since March this year, the cumulative stock price of television broadcasting has risen by nearly 60%. As of the close on June 7th, the stock price of Television Broadcasts was at HKD 5.81 per share, down 1.53%, with a total market value of HKD 2.545 billion.

According to TVB's annual report data, the group's revenue in 2022 was HKD 3.586 billion, an increase of 24% from HKD 2.899 billion in the same period last year; Net profit loss of HKD 807 million, a 25% year-on-year increase in losses; A loss of HKD 1.84 per share increased by 24%. According to the annual report, the revenue growth is mainly attributed to the e-commerce revenue contributed by the acquisition of Shiduo Group at the end of August 2021.

According to the analysis of Caitong Securities, with the development of Internet content platforms, the traditional status of television as content transmission has been reduced, and film and television content has moved online. The development of mobile content platforms has further accelerated the transfer of traffic, which is marked by the fact that Internet advertising revenue exceeded television advertising revenue in 2014. The migration of communication channels and the significant increase in the supply of film and television content in mainland China have greatly restricted the dissemination of Hong Kong dramas that rely on television, and the influence of Hong Kong culture has declined.

Zhang Yi, CEO and Chief Analyst of iMedia Consulting, previously told Paper that TVB's attempt to enter Taobao live streaming is a good reference for the traditional media industry to intervene in live streaming e-commerce. "The influence of TVB and its ability to operate its artists provide a good starting point for its involvement in live streaming e-commerce, and the authority of traditional media can also bring consumers a sense of trust."

According to data from iMedia Consulting, the total scale of China's live streaming e-commerce industry reached 1201.2 billion yuan in 2021, and it is expected to reach 2137.3 billion yuan by 2025. With the rise of the "live streaming sales" consumption model, the Chinese live streaming e-commerce market has shown strong potential and vitality.