TVB defends itself against accusations of mismanagement and indebtedness

Local media broadcaster TVB has defended itself against seven accusations of mismanagement and high indebtedness by a group of shareholders.

This comes as a letter addressed to the Board of Directors of TVB was being circulated online lately, accusing TVB of misleading its shareholders on the official name of the company that holds executive power; investment failure in SMI and State Reserve Energy Bonds, which resulted in a loss of $HK1bn for the company.

It also questioned the company’s investment on its eCommerce platform “Ztore” as the online platform requires improvement and investment in logistics and warehouse, “Sales of ‘Ztore’ increased as it placed a lot of ads on TVB, however this might result in huge loss for TVB. (而且現時「士多」營業額的大幅增加，可能也是因為投放在「TVB」的大量廣告所致，那即是說「士多」越做多些生意，「TVB」就可能越蝕得多)”

In response to the accusations, TVB told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the allegations therein are groundless and lack clarity. “In the past few years, Hong Kong has been hard hit by social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid these immense challenges, TVB has maintained good performance. “

It also said TVB’s flagship TV channels remain Hong Kong’s most-watched by a large margin with prime-time rating of over 25 TVRs, corresponding to a 77% share of viewership. In the first half of 2022, revenue from operations in Mainland China jumped 42%.

“TVB places a high value on corporate governance, and strictly complies with Hong Kong listing rules and the Broadcasting Ordinance. By leveraging a transparent governance model with shareholders and stakeholders, as well as sustaining satisfactory operation of the company, TVB strives to create long-term sustainable returns for shareholders,” the statement read.

Regarding the concerned letter, TVB strongly denies the allegations therein, and reserves the right to pursue legal action.

Don't miss: TVB defends commentary questioning marketers' ad placement decisions

This isn't the first time TVB has copped flak for its management decisions. Back in November last year, TVB has defended its recent comments which questioned marketers' ad placement decisions and asked them to make wiser choices when placing ads on media platforms.

This comes as the broadcaster posted a statement on LinkedIn, asking why marketers would place ads on media platforms with higher advertising cost per rating point (CPRP), and why they did not turn to media platforms with higher programme ratings such as TVB with higher return on investment (ROI). TVB then put up a statement to clarify that the original post did not intend to attack any marketers. Rather, the post expressed that CPRP is an important scientific equation of measurement, hoping to attract market attention and highlight the importance of CPRP.

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