Metro Broadcast Office in Whampoa Garden 2016

Metro Broadcast Corporation Ltd. () is one of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

's three radio broadcasting corporations. It was founded on 1 July 1991, and is owned by the Hong Kong-listed

CK Hutchison Holdings CK Hutchison Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong-based and Cayman Islands-registered multinational conglomerate corporation. The company was formed in March 2015 through the merger of Cheung Kong Holdings and its main associate company Hutchison Wh ...

Services

Metro Broadcast operates three

radio channel Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

s: Metro Finance (FM104), Metro Info (FM99.7), Metro Plus (AM 1044, the only English channel). The company also offered Metro Finance Digital (DAB+), Metro Music Digital (DAB+) and Metro Life Digital (DAB+) until the company announced its intention to return its digital audio broadcasting license in September 2016. The digital audio broadcasting license was terminated in November that same year. Metro also offers

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

broadcasting service through mobile phones, via the mobile phone service provider

3 Mobile 3 or Three is a global brand name owned by Hutchison 3G Enterprises S.A.R.L., under which several UMTS-based mobile phone networks and broadband internet providers operate in Hong Kong, Macau, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Sweden, and ...

. In addition, Metro offers eSHOP, an

online shopping Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of t ...

website. In 2003, the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...

renewed Metro's broadcasting license for 12 years, with the renewal taking effect in 2004. The license was renewed for a further 12 years on March 22, 2016, with the extension taking effect on August 25 of the same year.

History

In 1990, the Hong Kong government reformed radio broadcasting regulations, allowing the introduction of a third radio station. It released the license to Metro Radio. In 1991, Metro Radio set up its headquarters in Site 11 Whampoa Garden in Hunghom,

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...

(香港九龍紅磡黃埔花園第十一期). At that time, Metro Radio had two Chinese channels- channel FM99.7 (勁歌台) and channel FM104 (金曲台) and an English channel - AM 1044 (Metro News). In 1994, Philip Chan Yan Kin (陈欣健) took over as General Manager and revised many of its programs. In 1996 Metro Radio carried out a strategic shift of focus from news services to entertainment. The names of channel FM99.7 (勁歌台) and channel FM104 (金曲台) were changed to Hit Radio (新城997) and FM Select (精選104) respectively, and Metro News became Metro Plus. In the same year, Chan Hoi-kei (陳海琪) resigned as leader, and was replaced by Bak wan-kam (白韻琴). In 1997 due to an expansion, the head office of Metro Radio moved to Basement 2 Site 6 Whampoa Garden, Hunghom, Kowloon (香港九龍紅磡黃埔花園第六期地庫二層). In 1998 the company set up another broadcasting station in Central's

The Center The Center () is the fifth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, after International Commerce Centre, Two International Finance Centre (88 storeys), Central Plaza and Bank of China Tower. With a height of , it comprises 73 storeys. The center is ...

(中環中心), Hong Kong Island. On 22 January 2001, it changed the name of Hit Radio (新城997) to Metro Showbiz (新城娛樂台). On 5 February, FM Select (精選104) was renamed Metro Finance (新城財經台). In 2004,, Metro Radio expanded its broadcasting in the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Ma ...

by entering into a shared programming agreement with

Radio Guangdong Radio Guangdong is a provincially-owned radio station in Guangdong, owns nine radio channels and two newspapers. Radio Guangdong is a part of Guangdong Radio and Television, and is a member of World Radio Network. History Radio Guangdong star ...

(廣東電台). On 2 January 2008, Metro Showbiz was renamed to Metroinfo (新城知訊台). Metroinfo broadcast both entertainment and financial programs. The CEO of Metro Radio was Kam Kwok-leung (甘國亮) and the director of Metroinfo was Chu Ming-yui (朱明銳) in the past.

Current channels

Metro Finance (FM 104)

Metro Finance started up on 5 February 2001. The station delivers content relating to investment funds,

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

, bonds,

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

and other information relating to

financial markets A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial ma ...

in China and abroad. Metro Finance World also organizes investment talks throughout the year. The

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

s of companies and investment banks or other financial commentators are invited to make speeches. Tso, the special column writer of "Investment Diary" in the

Hong Kong Economic Journal The ''Hong Kong Economic Journal'' (HKEJ). is a Chinese-language daily newspaper published in Hong Kong by the Shun Po Co., Ltd.. Available in both Hong Kong and Macau, the newspaper mainly focuses on economic news and other related, usuall ...

, is an event organizer as well as a keynote speaker in these talks. Market trends are discussed, as well as investment advice for the audience. The talks are later broadcast by Metro Finance and other media in China.

Metro Info (FM 99.7)

Metro Showbiz broadcasts

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

news hourly, 24 hours a day since 22 January 2001.

Hit awards

Every year Television Broadcast Limited ( TVB),

Commercial Radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (a ...

RTHK Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econo ...

and Metro Radio present awards to outstanding singers, composers and authors for outstanding performance in the entertainment industry. Metro Radio holds the Hit Awards annually at the end of December (usually on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

, i.e. 26 December), which is the first award among the four. The Hit Awards gives out more than 100 different awards in categories such as singers, groups, and songs. In 2007, the music label,

Gold Label Gold Typhoon Group is a Chinese entertainment company. Gold Label was founded in 2004 in Hong Kong, launched with the support of EMI, and acquired EMI Music Taiwan / EMI Music China (Typhoon Records) in 2008, reforming to Gold Typhoon. On 1 Jan ...

boycotted the ceremony due to rumours about their singers receiving only a few awards. The station has also presented the annual ''Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards'' (新城國語力頒獎禮), around July and August, since 2002.

Metro Plus (AM 1044)

Metro plus AM1044 provides international news coverage, current affairs, entertainment, music, health, cosmetic trends, jokes and conducts interviews with celebrities. The Indonesian Hour, Filipino Hour and Desi Dhamaka are international programs available in the Hong Kong area. Metro Plus was awarded "Caring Company 2002/2003" by the

Hong Kong Council of Social Service The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS; or 社聯) is a council coordinating NGOs in the social service field in Hong Kong, established in 1947. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service represent more than 480 Agency Members that prov ...

(HKCSS).

Former channels

Metro Finance Digital (DAB+ 11)

Metro Finance Digital (MFD) focuses on

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

and the worldwide financial market, with educational programmes on investment. programmes from Metro Finance and Metro Info channels are repeated in MFD as well.

Metro Music Digital (DAB+ 12)

This channel mainly focuses on music including local, British, American, Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese pop music. The programming includes jazz, soul and R&D music, and musicians are invited to the music programmes as DJs. Metro Music Digital (MMD) channel now broadcasts on its own for 14 hours per day, then jointly broadcasts with Metro Finance and Metro Info channels for the remaining time. The slogan of MMD is "Love Music, Love Green."

Metro Life Digital (DAB+ 13)

Metro Life Digital (MLD) began broadcasting on 17 Sep2014. Its programmes mainly focus on finance, lifestyle, science, history and religion. MLD broadcasts music programme from midnight to early morning.

References

External links

Official websiteMetro Plus Programme ScheduleMetro Info
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{{Chinese-language radio Radio stations in Hong Kong Cantonese-language radio stations Multilingual broadcasters CK Hutchison Holdings Radio stations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Hong Kong