Local TV stations will be allocating the most air time ever for the Olympics, but they may need to stomach a loss of several million Hong Kong dollars if response from advertisers remains sluggish.
For the first time in Olympic history, the Hong Kong government has purchased the broadcasting rights to the Games and will allow five of the city's broadcasters - Television Broadcasts, ViuTV, Hong Kong Open TV, Cable TV and NowTV - to air the event.
TV stations are required to play a total of 900 hours of Olympic footage on free channels and 3,000 hours on paid channels, according to their agreement with the government.
That would make it the longest air time for Olympic broadcasts in Hong Kong, government adviser Patrick Li Hon-yuen told Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister newspaper.
TVB, Cable TV and Now TV will use multiple channels to air the competitions, while TVB will use 13 channels for 3,000 to 4,000 hours of coverage. The other two broadcasters will air at least 1,000 hours of competitions.
The stations are required to cover most of the competitions joined by Hong Kong athletes, so they have to send teams to shoot matches on top of those covered by the official broadcast.
They have sent 16 people to form a joint pool. It would cost each station around HK$20 million to produce the programs.
However, each station could only earn advertising revenue of around HK$10 to HK$20 million due to the pandemic - much less than the HK$50 million raked in from the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.
"If the stations are lucky, they may get more advertisements and break even. If not, they could lose several hundred million dollars," Li said.
Meanwhile, the first batch of 46 Hong Kong athletes have moved into Tokyo's Olympics Village.
Both badminton player Angus Ng Ka-long and fencer Shawn Cheung Siu-lun were delighted by the wide range of food choices available.
Cheung added that he had faith in the virus infection-control measures in the village.
Fellow fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai rode a bike around the village while other athletes seized the chance to appreciate the stunning view, including the 600-meter Harumi Bridge.
