TVB receives almost 600 complaints during Olympic game coverage

Station flooded by viewer gripes over Olympic TV

Television Broadcasts has been flooded with complaints by disgruntled viewers complaining that there is too much Olympics on television.

Station chiefs said yesterday they had received almost 600 complaints since the Beijing Games got underway on August 8.

Some came from fans of the TVB Jade series Moonlight Resonance, which has been moved to a later time slot.

The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority said it had received only eight complaints about the rescheduling of TVB programs.

In a forum on discussion.com.hk, 60 percent said they preferred Moonlight Resonance to Olympic events.

TVB external affairs deputy controller Tsang Sing-ming said the station had to strike a balance between enthusiasm for the Olympics and the station's loyal viewers. Sometimes it was difficult to satisfy everyone, Tsang said.

"Our priority is the majority of viewers," Tsang said.

"As much as possible, we try to show the events in which China or Hong Kong have a chance of winning medals, as many people want to watch them.

"We have also explained before that some programs have had to be rescheduled because our priority is the Olympics.

"After all, the Games come once every four years and it is the first time that China is playing host. Showing more Olympic events is more appropriate and I hope our long-time viewers will understand."

Up to August 17, the station had received 593 complaints, but only about 30 were related to the cancellation or the rescheduling of the TV series, Tsang said.

"We receive about 30 complaints every day regarding [the professionalism and knowledge] of our Olympic hosts. About 20 every day are about program arrangements," Tsang said.

He also said TVB had received more complaints this time compared with other Olympics Games. This was because these were real-time broadcasts against previous Games where events were broadcast late in the evening or early in the morning.

He said TVB's audience share showed a big jump around 12:15am on (Saturday), August 9 when former Chinese gymnastics champion Li Ning lit the Olympic flame during the Opening Ceremony.

It also shot up at other points during the ceremony.

"It proves Hong Kong people care about the Beijing Olympics as there was only a small increase for the Athens Olympics opening ceremony in 2004," Tsang said.

Source: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail....080819&fc=2