The publisher of the Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily announced it will launch two television stations in Taiwan next year, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Next Media Ltd., based in Hong Kong, will allocate about US$200 million for the stations, and expect them to become profitable within two years after they launch, Chairman Jimmy Lai told Bloomberg.

The media company is diversifying its broadcast arm as its print business suffers on low ad revenue, Lai stated in the Bloomberg article, posted by the Taipei Times. In 2008, the company's profits were down 3.3 percent to HK$208.3 million (US$27 million).

According to Media Partners Asia, however, ad revenues in the cable and satellite TV industry were down 5.8 percent last year in Taiwan, Bloomberg reported.