Next TV: Jimmy Lai's all-HD TV venture lost 504 jobs in 3 years

Next TV was a Taiwanese free-to-air television broadcaster founded in 2009 by Jimmy Lai's Next Media, the Hong Kong-based publisher behind Apple Daily. It was built as Taiwan's first all-HD network, with studios, production facilities and transmission infrastructure designed from the ground up for high-definition broadcasting. The network launched news, finance, variety and drama channels with an estimated investment running into the billions of New Taiwan dollars.

The venture faced a fundamental distribution problem from the start. Taiwan's cable operators — who controlled access to the vast majority of TV households — refused to carry Next TV's channels. The National Communications Commission (NCC) took over a year to approve the news channel, and even after approval most cable operators did not add it to their lineups. Without cable carriage, the network could not reach enough viewers to generate advertising revenue.

The financial toll was swift. In March 2012, less than a year after launch, Next TV shut down its finance channel due to mounting losses. The centre had a staff of about 30, some of whom were laid off. On October 1, 2012, Next Media announced a restructuring: Next TV laid off 300 employees and its sister company Next Media Entertainment laid off another 204, for a total of 504 people. The layoffs were among the largest in Taiwanese media history at the time.

In June 2013, Next Media sold Next TV to ERA Communications, controlled by media veteran Lian Taisheng. By December 2013, Next Media had transferred its remaining 45% stake, exiting the Taiwanese television business entirely. The Americas channel also ceased broadcasting in October 2012. The venture, which was meant to be Next Media's entry into Taiwanese television, lasted barely three years as an independent operation.