TVB-Europe (broadcaster)
| Wholly owned subsidiary | |
| Industry | Internet television |
| Founded | March 1994 |
| Website | http://www.tvbanywhere.com |
TVB-Europe is an online television service that streams content from Hong Kong's Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) to subscribers in Europe via its TVB-Anywhere set-top box.
Initially established as The Chinese Channel Limited (TCC) (Chinese: 時視) in 1994 as a satellite television broadcaster based in the United Kingdom, it broadcast to 48 countries in Europe. The company became a wholly owned subsidiary of TVB in 2003 and the on-air identity was re-branded as TVB-Europe, though it retained "The Chinese Channel Limited" as a legal identity.
After transitioning from a satellite service into an online one, it was announced on December 9, 2014, that "The Chinese Channel Limited" was in administration, as TVB Europe the service is now run as part of TVB International operating from Hong Kong.
The Chinese Channel Limited was established in 1994 as a joint venture between Pacific Media PLC and Shaw Media Corporation, a company controlled by Markus and Darren Shaw the grand nephews of TVB's former chairman and founder Run Run Shaw.
From the very beginning TVB was the source of the majority of TCC's programming though not exclusively so. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s the consumer of Chinese language programming in the United Kingdom was by videotape and TVB had established official video rental outlets for its dramas, however the official outlets did not have the geographical coverage to compete with videotape pirates who could always undercut it on price. TVB found that its programs were being taped as they were broadcast in Hong Kong, mailed abroad, copied and shared between friends and hawked as a sideline by businesses serving the Chinese community. By having TCC as an affiliate TVB could better profit from its own products. However, as the fledgling channel sought to build up its subscriber base, (advertising revenue has always been weak given the fractured nature of the target audience) financial support from TVB became increasingly important leading to a rebranding of TCC as TVBS-Europe, (TVB Satellite-Europe (Chinese: 無綫衞星台)). Station identification, colours, logos and jingles became variations of that used by TVB for it Jade brand in Hong Kong, and the station was no longer referred to on air or its promotional material as 時視 (CC).
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