It is hard to exaggerate the cultural and political influence of TVB, Hong Kong’s most powerful broadcaster, in the Chinese territory.
Established by the media mogul Run Run Shaw, who died three years ago, TVB dominates television news and entertainment in the city of seven million. Its broadcasts can also be picked up by tens of millions more viewers across the border in China’s southern Guangdong province. With no serious competition in its home market, TVB wields considerable influence.
Under Hong Kong’s Broadcasting Ordinance, TVB and other TV stations can only be controlled by local residents. This rule is one of the important guarantees of Hong Kong’s autonomy aside from foreign affairs and defence promised by Beijing on the former UK colony’s reversion to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.