Fox International Channels, a unit of News Corp, aims to grow its revenue in China at a steady 15-20 percent as it expands its business through its flagship channels, such as National Geographic and Star Movies, a senior executive said.
Fox International Channels, which derives its revenues mainly from advertising and subscriptions from hotels in China, expects to grow by a faster pace of 30-40 percent in Taiwan, where there is a freewheeling media industry, said Joanne Tsai, its senior vice president for Asia.
Fox International Channels declined to provide a breakdown of its revenues.
"In China, we need licences to operate. We still have many channels that we haven't had the chance to introduce to Chinese viewers," Tsai, who is also the general manager for China and Taiwan at Fox International Channels, told Reuters by telephone.
"We see a growing demand for high-definition programmes in China, and FIC has a lot of such entertainment shows and documentaries that we hope to broadcast in China in future," the Taipei-based executive said.
Despite China's massive population and strong domestic demand, Fox International sees more conservative numbers for the market due to limitations posed by strict regulations.
In China, which regulates content from foreign cable operators that it deems inappropriate for its citizens, Fox International's National Geographic and Star Movies channels can largely be accessed in hotels of three-stars and above.
China's TV stations are mainly state-owned, with operators such as CCTV providing programmes ranging from news and talk shows to home-made soap operas and variety shows.
Fox International has already begun rolling out programmes that cater to Chinese tastes, such as "China To The World," a series of documentaries jointly produced by National Geographic and CCTV that features Chinese culture and life.
Despite News Corp's sales of controlling stakes in three of its China TV channels -- Xing Kong, Xing Kong International and Channel V Mainland -- to a Chinese private equity fund last year, Tsai is unfazed.
"One needs some patience to wait for the China business to blossom," she said.
Just across the strait, the situation is different.
In Taiwan, where variety shows are generally more creative and even outlandish at times, there is more room for locally produced entertainment programmes.
With Taiwan's vibrant entertainment scene, Fox International is now planning to produce a Taiwanese version of the hugely popular MasterChef, American Idol and America's Got Talent. It now runs nearly 20 channels in Taiwan.
"We're trying to get the rights to produce a Taiwanese version of MasterChef, which will be handled by local production staff," Tsai said.
Globally, Fox International now has over 170 million subscribers from Latin American to Asia watching its channels, such as FoxCrime, Star World and Channel V.
