Ricky Wong (王維基) invested $200 million HKD to develop CTI, a new Hong Kong television station regarded as TVB’s new rival. As ambitious as Ricky’s new venture is, he may have been too quick to “jump the gun.” Without receiving an approved television broadcasting license and the proper filming facilities, CTI already started production on multiple television series. Reports have surfaced that Ricky suddenly let go of Joe Ma (馬德鐘), Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼), Bernice Liu (廖碧兒), as well as three top CTI executives. It turned out that Ricky was unable to come to a mutual agreement with Joe Ma and Charmaine Sheh, who allegedly wished to have a firmer guarantee in contractual terms from CTI. Unfortunately, without a proper television license, it was unclear whether CTI dramas will be aired in Hong Kong. With the delayed approval of their broadcasting rights, CTI was unable to give artists a solid offer to stand on. Ricky convinced business executive, William Lau (劉傳弘), to partner with him to start an artist management company, Leader Artist Management Company, recruiting TVB talents such as Joe Ma and Charmaine Sheh with the intent to sign onto CTI. According to an inside source, Ricky has worked tirelessly to sign seasoned artists, Wilson Tsui (艾威) and Sin Ho Ying (冼灝英). While Ricky wished to recruit younger artists, they were more hesitant to sign with CTI because they felt that Ricky will not be able to compete with TVB in the long run. Recently, William Lau has resigned from Leader Artist Management Company. This fueled additional rumors that CTI did not have a firm foundation, leading to growing internal problems. CTI Lacks Firm Foundation Ricky’s lack of preparedness has drawn much speculation over CTI’s longevity. Without a proper television license and a facility dedicated for filming, all of the series currently filming have to take place publicly. This caused further production delays and increased costs. To have greater certainty in their careers, Joe Ma and Charmaine Sheh are reportedly considering returning to TVB. Recently, Joe has spent a large amount of time promoting his new TVB drama, Tiger Cubs, to regain TVB’s trust in him. TVB executive, Virginia Lok, acknowledged that TVB asked Joe to film Tiger Cubs 2. Charmaine Sheh has always been one of TVB’s most valued artists. Charmaine is also rumored to start filming a new series for TVB next month. Seeing that Joe and Charmaine have a change of hearts, Ricky had no choice but to allow them to go. However, Bernice Liu already filmed a new musical TV drama with CTI. Her future with TVB is still uncertain. With the sudden shakeup in his company staff and contracted artists, Ricky’s representative replied on his behalf, “We are continuing with the filming of the series and recruitment of artists.” Creds: Sudden Weekly
i'm all for a new channel in hong kong... having only a few channels on tv is just plain retarded. more competition should lead to better quality (at least, i hope so). also add to the fact that tvb had been sucking badly last few years. i do have to admit that tvb has been doing better since the news that there will be a new channel (cti), the shows have been slightly better than the ones before, so imo, keep the competition up and we will get to see better stuff on tv
^ya i agree.....more rivals/competitors = less complacent.........TVB has been so complacent that they were producing wackass dramas for the past years....
bad move by CTI, i was hoping they could have produce and release so series by now. But they didn't even have a license for air, so why did he invest so much money and pay all those artists for nothing..........
Haha at CTI. Good to know that CTI let Joe and Charmaine. I don't bother much with Bernice. Tiger Cubs 2 sounds good =D
good to know that Joe Ma and Chaimaine Sheh might be returning to TVB. And there will be a Tiger Cub 2? great....hope to have more series of Joe Ma.
Don't really care much about Chaimaine but I do like Joe Ma so it's a good thing if he stays. But I thought he'll be doing more of a per series instead of long contracts with any TV station.
