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On March 14th, data disclosed by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed that Dodge & Cox Fund Company axed its holdings in Television Broadcasts Limited (00511.HK, TVB) on March 9th, slashing its holdings from 9.45% to 8.08%, with the number of shares held decreasing by 6.0061 million to about 35.4 million. Calculated at an average share price of HK$13.0498, the shareholder netted approximately HK$78.388 million from the sale. 

The 2022 interim report shows that Dodge & Cox Fund Company is TVB's third largest shareholder, second only to Shaw Brothers Limited and Silchester International Investors LLP, directly holding 40.16 million shares, accounting for 9.17% of TVB's issued ordinary shares.

On March 7th, TVB tested the waters on "Hong Kong drama-style livestream marketing" on Taobao, with the presence of TV stars Sharon Chan Man Chi and Moses Chan Ho. In a short five trading days, TVB's stock priced soared by over 300%, reaching a record high of HK$17.9 in more than four years on March 9th.

Founded in 1967, TVB was the most popular television media organization in Hong Kong. In recent years, TVB, which once swept Asia with many classic TV series, has continued to suffer losses.

On March 14th, TVB released its 2022 performance forecast. It is estimated that the company's comprehensive income for the year will increase by 24% to HK$3.586 billion, and the net loss will be between HK$790 million and HK$830 million, widening as compared to the net loss of HK$647 million for 2021. 

With regard to this, TVB explained that Hong Kong's television advertising market remained weak for most of 2022, inhibiting the growth of the company's advertising revenue. At the same time, the epidemic slowed down the company's joint production business in late 2022. 

Entering the livestream marketing area is an important attempt made by TVB to expand its profit channels. 

However, on March 9th, TVB said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its livestream marketing activities in mainland China are still in the early stages and its future contribution to the group's revenue remains to be seen.  

According to Zhang Yi, CEO and chief analyst of iiMedia Research, TVB's entry into Taobao Live is an innovative and promising business and its influence and ability to leverage the influence of the TV stars have given it a good start. The authority of traditional media can also bring consumers a sense of trust.

As of March 14th, TVB's shares declined by 10.91%, closing at HK$9.8 per share.