The financial reports of HKTV, managed by businessman Ricky Wong, was just released last week and the reports state that the company has lost about $237 million HKD ($30.5 million USD) in the last 16 months, ending the calculation of the losses accumulated on December of last year.

Back in 2013, the television network applied for a free-to-air service license from the Hong Kong government. Though it was rejected, HKTV decided to continue broadcasting its programs and utilize its Internet platform to air them.

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HKTV was formally launched in November of 2014. The moment HKTV was established, Ricky was hopeful that he would be able to shake Hong Kong’s television industry a bit and challenge their rival network, TVB’s monopoly.

However, doing so has proven to be a lot easier said than done. HKTV initially received a lot of support from Internet users but eventually, ratings fell, which forced the network to temporarily stop the production of their shows.

As of now, the broadcaster relies on their unique online shopping mall, a few commercials and the fees they charge to viewers overseas to rake in income.

Four years ago, HKTV bought a portion of a land located in Tseung Kwan O—which was just a few miles away from TVB’s TV City Studios. The land was supposed to be a production studio meant for their TV dramas. Sadly, the project has still not begun.

TagsHKTV, Ricky Wong, Company Losses