Television in the People's Republic of China

Chinese language television
Main articles:
• China • Hong Kong • Macau • Singapore • Taiwan
Regulatory agency
• State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (China) • Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (Hong Kong) • Chinese language TV channels • Censorship in China • Censorship in Singapore • Censorship in Taiwan
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The television industry in the People's Republic of China has grown into a complete system with high-tech program production, transmission and coverage. China Central Television, China's largest and most powerful national television station, has established business relations with more than 250 television organizations in over 130 countries and regions.

History

Origins

When the People's Republic was founded in 1949, the telecommunications systems and facilities in China were outdated and rudimentary, and many had been damaged or destroyed during the war years. Communications in China were established rapidly in the early 1950s. By 1952 the principal telecommunications network centered on Beijing, and links to all large cities had finally been established, also launching television broadcasts. The first national broadcasts began on May, 1, 1958, and Beijing Television (now China Central Television since 1978) was formally launched on September 2, 1958. Liaoning Television, the first regional station, began operations a year later, on October 1, 1959, the 10th PRC National Day.

Growth in telecommunications halted with the general economic collapse after the Great Leap Forward (1958–60) but revived in the 1960s: radio-television service was installed in major cities in these years. By 1965 there were 12 television stations in mainland China (compared to approximately 700 conventional television stations and about 3,000 cable channels today). Similarly, in 1978, there was less than one television receiver per 100 people, and fewer than ten million Chinese had access to a television set (in 2003 there were about 35 TVs for every 100 people, and roughly a billion Chinese had access to television); expansion and modernization of the broadcasting systems continued throughout the late-1970s and early 1980s.

1980s

The Ministry of Radio and Television was established as a separate entity in 1982 to administer and upgrade the status of television and radio broadcasting. Subordinate to this ministry were the Central People's Broadcasting Station, Radio Beijing, and China Central Television. Additionally, the various broadcasting training, talent-search, research, publishing, and manufacturing organizations were brought under the control of the Ministry of Radio and Television. In 1986 responsibility for the movie industry was transferred from the Ministry of Culture to the new Ministry of Radio, Cinema, and Television.

Radio and television expanded rapidly in the 1980s as important means of mass communication and popular entertainment. By 1985 television reached two-thirds of the population through more than 104 stations (up from 52 in 1984 and 44 in 1983); an estimated 85 percent of the urban population had access to television. During this time, the content of the programming changed drastically from the political lectures and statistical lists of the previous period. Typical television shows were entertainment, including feature films, sports, drama, music, dance, and children's programming. In 1985 a survey of a typical week of television programming made by the Shanghai publication Wuxiandian Yu Dianshi (Journal of Radio and Television) revealed that more than half of the programming could be termed entertainment; education made up 24 percent of the remainder of the programming and news 15 percent. A wide cross section of international news was presented each evening. Most news broadcasts had been borrowed from foreign news organizations, and a Chinese summary was dubbed over. China Central Television also contracted with several foreign broadcasters for entertainment programs. Between 1982 and 1985, six United States television companies signed agreements to provide American programs to China.

China launched its first television-broadcast satellite in 1986.

In 1987 China Central Television (CCTV), the state network, managed China's television programs. In 1985 consumers purchased 15 million new sets, including approximately 4 million color sets. Production fell far short of demand. Because Chinese viewers often gathered in large groups to watch publicly owned sets, authorities estimated that two-thirds of the nation had access to television. In 1987 there were about 70 million television sets, an average of 29 sets per 100 families. CCTV had four channels that supplied programs to the over ninety television stations throughout the country. Construction began on a major new CCTV studio in Beijing in 1985. CCTV produced its own programs, a large portion of which were educational, and the Television University in Beijing produced three educational programs weekly. The English-language lesson was the most popular program and had an estimated 5 to 6 million viewers. Other programs included daily news, entertainment, teleplays, and special programs. Foreign programs included films and cartoons. Chinese viewers were particularly interested in watching international news, sports, and drama (see Culture of the People's Republic of China).

1990s

In September 1993, after acquiring the STAR TV satellite network, Rupert Murdoch publicly declared:^[1]

"(telecommunications) have proved an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere ... satellite broadcasting makes it possible for information-hungry residents of many closed societies to bypass state-controlled television channels"

After this, the former prime minister Li Peng requested and obtained the ban of satellite dishes throughout the country. Subsequently the STAR TV network dropped the BBC channels from its satellite offer. This, and many ensuing declaration from Murdoch, led critics to believe the businessman was striving to appease the Chinese government in order to have the ban lifted.^[1] It is also alleged that the PRC government was unhappy with BBC coverage and threatened to block STAR TV in the huge mainland Chinese market if the BBC was not withdrawn. This is despite technology that is capable of blocking BBC World in China, while making it available in other countries they serve.^[2][3][4]

2000s

In 2001, the Chinese government put forward a goal of promoting media amalgamation by establishing trans-regional multi-media news groups. It also instituted detailed regulations on media industry fund raising, foreign-funded cooperation and trans-media development.

The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT), founded at the end of 2001, integrated the resources of central-level radio, television and film industry plus those of the radio and television, Internet companies into China's biggest and strongest multi-media group covering the fields of television, Internet, publishing, advertising, etc. At the same time Chinese media industry is cooperating with overseas media groups.

By 2003, 30 overseas television networks, including Phoenix Television, Bloomberg Television, STAR TV, Eurosport, BBC World, CNBC, and China Entertainment Television had entered into China with limitations. At the same time, the English language channel of CCTV entered the United States through Fox News Internet under the jurisdiction of News Corporation.

In conformity with trends in the international television industry, CCTV has made progress in the direction of specialization, introducing three specialized channels between 2003 and 2004, CCTV-News, CCTV-Children and CCTV-Music.

Since September 1, 2006, the Chinese government has banned foreign-produced animation between the hours of 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. on state-run television to protect struggling Chinese animation studios that have been affected by the popularity of such cartoons.^[5]

Despite these advances, a considerable gap remains between the eastern coastal region and the Chinese hinterland, where television sets and regional broadcasters are far less common.

Today

Altogether there are 3,000 television stations across the country. Large international TV expositions, including the Shanghai Television Festival, Beijing International Television Week, China Radio and Television Exposition and Sichuan Television Festival, are held on a regular basis.

Besides judging and conferring awards, these festivals conduct academic exchange and the import and export of TV programs. Shanghai has become the largest television program trading market in Asia.

Since China entered the World Trade Organization, the trend within China's media industry is to form inter-media and trans-regional media groups operated with multiple patterns so as to meet competition and challenges from powerful overseas media groups.

Censorship

Main article: Censorship in the People's Republic of China

Television censorship is conducted by State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television of People's Republic of China (PRC) and targets the overseas programs (including those from Hong Kong and Macau), that can be watched in Mainland China. In addition receiving satellite TV signals without permission is against the law in Mainland China.^[6]

Foreign and Hong Kong SAR news broadcasts in mainland China such as TVB, Phoenix TV, CNN, BBC World, BBC World Service, CNBC and Bloomberg Television are occasionally censored by being "blacked out" during controversial segments. CNN has reported that their broadcast agreement in China includes an arrangement that their signal must pass through a Chinese-controlled satellite. In this way, Chinese authorities have been able to blackout CNN segments at will.^[7] CNN has also said that their broadcasts are not widely available in China, but rather only in certain diplomatic compounds, hotels, and apartment blocks.^[8]

Blacked out content has included references to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989,^[7] the Dalai Lama,^[7] the death of Zhao Ziyang,^[9] the 2008 Tibetan unrest,^[7] the Chinese milk scandal of 2008^[10] and negative developments about the Beijing Olympics.^[11]

During the Summer Olympics in Beijing all Chinese TV stations were ordered to delay live broadcasts by ten seconds, a policy that was designed to give censors time to react in case free-Tibet demonstrators or others staged political protests.^[12] In January 2009, during a television report of the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama, the state-run China Central Television abruptly cut away from its coverage of Obama's address when he spoke of how "earlier generations faced down fascism and communism".^[13]

Enforcement in television censorship is increasingly difficult and ineffective in the early part of the twenty-first century, partly due to satellite signal hacking systems that can be purchased in most major cities for as low as 2000 ¥ RMB ($285), which access channels and programs on many satellites serving the Asian Pacific region.^{[citation needed]}

Digital technology

According to the Chinese government's plans, by 2010 the existing cable television in cities above county levels in eastern and middle parts of China as well as in most of cities over county level in western parts of the country will be digitalized. By 2015, the analog signals within the country will be generally stopped. In the meantime, the policies emphasize the continued amalgamation of the three networks of Internet, television and telecom.

To realize the above goals, NDRC, MII and SARFT will be responsible for organizing special projects for implementing digital television services. Support will be given to digital TV related enterprises' listings and more investment will be injected into them.

According to China's national strategy, the country aims to shift from a major television manufacturer to a digital television power during the development of digital television industry. The policies show that by 2010, the annual sales of China's digital television sets and related products will reach RMB250 billion and the export volume will reach US$10 billion. By 2015, China's digital television industry scale and technology level will rank among the top in the world and it will become one of the world's largest digital television set and key components development and production bases.

Cable television

Cable television in the usual transmission method in all urban areas of mainland China - television aerials are an extremely rare sight. Cable systems usually carry all the CCTV channels in Mandarin, plus all the channels of municipal, provincial or regional station in question (such stations are listed below). The remaining slots carry the main channels from several other province-level stations, and may carry additional channels from metropolitan stations such as BTV and Shanghai Media Group. They may also carry a local channel for a particular sub-provincial municipality, prefecture or county. Individual compounds (hotels, housing estates, etc.) often add a request channel showing karaoke music videos and animations. An extremely small number of compounds with many foreign residents (e.g. five star hotels in Beijing) will also carry selected channels from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the West. Phoenix Television has the widest carriage under this rule.

Mainland China had more than 44.5 million digital cable television users in 2008.^[14]

Unlike many cable television operators in other countries that support two-way modes, China's cable television runs in a one-way mode (download only, no upload).

List of national networks and channels

Further information: List of Chinese language television channels

Free-to-air

^a require Internet Explorer to watch

China Central Television

Main article: China Central Television

Name	Hanzi	Launch	CNTV Ai Bugu (Online TV) a
CCTV-1 (General Channel)	中央综合	1958	CCTV-1
CCTV-2 (Finance Channel)	中央财经	1973	CCTV-2
CCTV-3 (Art Channel)	中央综艺	1989	CCTV-3
CCTV-4 (International Chinese Channel Asia)	中央中文国际 亚洲版	1992	CCTV-4 Asia
CCTV-4 (International Chinese Channel Europe)	中央中文国际 欧洲版	1992	CCTV-4 Europe
CCTV-4 (International Chinese Channel America)	中央中文国际 美洲版	1992	CCTV-4 America
CCTV-5 (Sports Channel)	中央体育	1994	CCTV-5
CCTV-6 (Movie Channel)	中央电影	1994	CCTV-6
CCTV-7 (Military & Agriculture Channel)	中央军事 农业	1994	CCTV-7
CCTV-8 (Television Series Channel)	中央电视剧	1994	CCTV-8
CCTV-9 (Chinese Documentary Channel)	中央纪录 中文	2010	CCTV-9 Chinese
CCTV-9 (English Documentary Channel)	中央纪录 英语	2010	CCTV-9 English
CCTV-10 (Education Channel)	中央科教	2001	CCTV-10
CCTV-11 (Opera Channel)	中央戏曲	2001	CCTV-11
CCTV-12 (Law & Society Channel)	中央社会与法	2005	CCTV-12
CCTV-13 (News Channel)	中央新闻	2005	CCTV-13
CCTV-14 (Children Channel)	中央少儿	2004	CCTV-14
CCTV-15 (Music Channel)	中央音乐	2004	CCTV-15
CCTV-NEWS	中央新闻英语国际	2000	CCTV-NEWS
CCTV-Français (International French Channel)	中央法语国际	2007	CCTV-Français
CCTV-Español (International Spanish Channel)	中央西班牙语国际	2007	CCTV-Español
CCTV-العربية (International Arabic Channel)	中央阿拉伯语国际	2009	CCTV-العربية
CCTV-русский (International Russian Channel)	中央俄语国际	2009	CCTV-русский
CCTV-22 (High-definition Channel)	中央高清	2008	CCTV-22

Provincial Satellite Television

Name	Hanzi	Origin	Launch	Owner	CNTV Ai Bugu (Online TV) a
Anhui Satellite Television	安徽卫视	Anhui	1997	Anhui Television (AHTV)	Anhui STV
Aniworld	金鹰卡通卫视	Hunan	2005	Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS)
Bingtuan Satellite Television	兵团卫视	Xinjiang	2009	Bingtuan Television (BTTV)	Bingtuan STV
Beijing Satellite Television	北京卫视	Beijing	1979	Beijing Television (BTV)	Beijing STV
Chongqing Satellite Television	重庆卫视	Chongqing	1997	Chongqing Broadcasting Group (CBG)	Chongqing STV
Dragon Satellite Television	东方卫视	Shanghai	1998	Shanghai Media Group (SMG)	Dragon STV
Gansu Satellite Television	甘肃卫视	Gansu	1998	Gansu Media Group (GSMG)	Gansu STV
Guangdong Satellite Television	广东卫视	Guangdong	1960	Southern Media Corporation (SMC)	Guangdong STV
Guangxi Satellite Television	广西卫视	Guangxi	1970	Guangxi Television (GXTV)	Guangxi STV
Guizhou Satellite Television	贵州卫视	Guizhou	1998	Guizhou Television (GTV)	Guizhou STV
Hebei Satellite Television	河北卫视	Hebei	1998	Hebei Television (HEBTV)	Hebei STV
Heilongjiang Satellite Television	黑龙江卫视	Heilongjiang	1997	Heilongjiang Television (HLJTV)	Heilongjiang STV
Henan Satellite Television	河南卫视	Henan	1996	Henan Television (HNTV)	Henan STV
Hubei Satellite Television	湖北卫视	Hubei	1997	Hubei Network Radio and Television	Hubei STV
Hunan Satellite Television	湖南卫视	Hunan	1997	Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS)	Hunan STV
Jiangsu Satellite Television	江苏卫视	Jiangsu	1997	Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation (JSBC)	Jiangsu STV
Jiangxi Satellite Television	江西卫视	Jiangxi	1970	Jiangxi Television (JXTV)	Jiangxi STV
Jilin Satellite Television	吉林卫视	Jilin	1997	Jilin Television (JLTV)	Jilin STV
Kaku	卡酷动画卫视	Beijing	2004	Beijing Television (BTV)
Liaoning Satellite Television	辽宁卫视	Liaoning	1959	Liaoning Radio and Television (LRTV)	Liaoning STV
Nei Mongol Satellite Television	内蒙古卫视	Inner Mongolia	1997	Nei Mongol Television (NMTV)	Nei Mongol STV
Ningxia Satellite Television	宁夏卫视	Ningxia	1998	Shanghai Media Group (SMG)	Ningxia STV
Qinghai Satellite Television	青海卫视	Qinghai	1997	Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS)	Qinghai STV
Shandong Satellite Television	山东卫视	Shangdong	1994	Shandong Television (SDTV)	Shangdong STV
Shannxi Satellite Television	陕西卫视	Shannxi	1997	Shaanxi Television Station (SXTVS)	Shaanxi STV
Shanxi Satellite Television	山西卫视	Shanxi	2004	Shanxi Television (SXTV)	Shanxi STV
Shenzhen Satellite Television	深圳卫视	Guangdong	2004	Shenzhen Media Group (SZMG)	Shenzhen STV
Sichuan Satellite Television	四川卫视	Sichuan	2003	Sichuan Radio and Television	Sichuan STV
Southeast Satellite Television	东南卫视	Fujian	1994	Fujian Media Group (FMG)	Southeast STV
Television Southern	南方卫视	Guangdong	2000	Southern Media Corporation (SMC)	Guangdong / overseas only
Strait Satellite Television	海峡卫视	Fujian	2005	Fujian Media Group (FMG)	Fujian / overseas only
The Travel Channel	旅游卫视	Hainan	1999	Travel Channel Inc.	The Travel Channel
Tianjin Satellite Television	天津卫视	Tianjin	1998	Tianjin Television (TJTV)	Tianjin STV
Toonmax	炫动卡通卫视	Shanghai	2005	Shanghai Media Group (SMG)
Xiamen Satellite Television	厦门卫视	Fujian	2005	Xiamen Media Group XMG	Xiamen STV
Xinjiang Satellite Television	新疆卫视	Xinjiang	1997	Xinjiang Television (XJTV)	Xinjiang STV
Xizang Satellite Television	西藏卫视	Tibet	2002	Xizang Television (XZTV)	Xizang STV
Yanbian Satellite Television	延边卫视	Jilin	2006	Yanbian Television (YBTV)
Yunnan Satellite Television	云南卫视	Yunnan	2000	Yunnan Television (YNTV)	Yunnan STV
Zhejiang Satellite Television	浙江卫视	Zhejiang	1960	Zhejiang Television (ZJTV)	Zhejiang STV

Non-local Chinese Satellite Television

Name	Hanzi	Launch	Owner
Asia Television Home	亚洲电视本港	2002	Asia Television.,Ltd
China Entertainment Television	华娱卫视	1995	China Entertainment Television Broadcast.,Ltd
Macau Asia Satellite Television	澳亚卫视	2001	Macau Asia Satellite Television Co.,Ltd
Macau Lotus Television	澳门莲花卫视	2002	Macau Lotus Television Co.,Ltd
Phoenix Television InfoNews	凤凰卫视资讯	2001	Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings.,Ltd
Phoenix Television Movies	凤凰卫视电影	1998	Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings.,Ltd
Phoenix Television Chinese	凤凰卫视中文	1996	Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings.,Ltd
Phoenix Television Hong Kong	凤凰卫视香港	1996	Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings.,Ltd
Television Broadcasts Jade (City Network)	无线电视翡翠(市网)	2004	Television Broadcasts.,Ltd
Television Broadcasts Jade (Province Network)	无线电视翡翠(省网)	2004	Television Broadcasts.,Ltd
Xing Kong Television	星空卫视	2002	STAR Greater China.,Ltd

Other

• Phoenix Television
• China Entertainment Television

Hong Kong

Main article: Television in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has two broadcast television networks, ATV and TVB. The latter, launched in 1967, was the territory's first free-to-air commercial station, and is currently the predominant TV station in the territory. Paid cable and satellite television have also been widespread. The production of Hong Kong's soap drama, comedy series and variety shows have reached mass audiences throughout the Chinese-speaking world. Broadcast media and news is provided by several companies, one of which is government-run. Television provides the major source of news and entertainment for the average family.

Macau

Main article: Media in Macau

Macau citizens can receive most of the terrestrial transmissions broadcast in Hong Kong.

See also

• China Central Radio and TV University
• Chinese Central Television
• Communications in the People's Republic of China
• Media of the People's Republic of China

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/apr/22/chinathemedia.rupertmurdoch
2. ^ Announcing The P.u.-litzer Prizes For 1994
3. ^ "China lets in BBC TV". BBC News. 2001-01-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1107470.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
4. ^ Star-TV (Hong Kong)
5. ^ McDonald, Joe. China Bans 'Simpsons' From Prime-Time TV. Associated Press: August 13, 2006
6. ^ "《卫星电视广播地面接收设施管理规定》实施细则". 广电总局. 新华网. 2003-05-31. http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2003-05/31/content_897368.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-16. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d} Vassileva, Ralitsa (2008-03-14). "China's media crackdown" (video). CNN. http://news.yahoo.com/i/2444. Retrieved 2008-03-16. 
8. ^ Vause, John (2008-04-09). "San Francisco Torch Relay Broadcast". CNN. 
9. ^ "News black-out on death of former top leader Zhao Ziyang". Reporters without Borders. 2005-01-28. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=12419. Retrieved 2008-03-17. 
10. ^ Raymond Li (16 September 2008). "Censorship hammer comes down over scandal". South China Morning Post, p. A5. 
11. ^ Oconnor, Ashling (2008-03-10). "Haile Gebrselassie pulls out of Beijing marathon". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3521537.ece. Retrieved 2008-03-11. "News of the development is struggling to reach audiences in China, where transmissions of BBC World were mysteriously suspended when the station relayed the story." 
12. ^ Barbara Demick (2009-01-22). "Chinese media censor Obama's inaugural speech". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/asia/la-fg-china-censor22-2009jan22,0,2705401.story. Retrieved 2009-03-18. 
13. ^ Chris O'Brien (2009-01-21). "Obama's address censored in China". The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/21/obamas-inaugural-address-censored-china/. Retrieved 2009-03-18. 
14. ^ [1]