China Media Monitor Headlines Archives

Q3 saw the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) approve further imported and co-produced TV dramas and movies to distribute in mainland China, as follows.
1) Imported TV dramas: 24 episodes of TV movies with 12 titles and 662 episodes of TV dramas with 34 titles
2) Sino-foreign TV dramas: 30 episodes with one title.

China Central TV’s financial channel, CCTV-2, will exceed RMB2 billion (US$301 million) in income in 2010, disclosed director Guo Zhenxi, in an interview with the website Caijing.com.cn on October 18.

To change the single revenue stream based on advertising sales, CCTV-2 has just started constructing its financial information platform, which covers newspapers, magazines, broadcasting, mobile terminals, databases and research institutes. The platform is expected to bring CCTV-2 handsome information products sales income every year, promoting its annual income to exceed RMB3 billion (US$451 million) in income every year after three years.

CCTV-2 and China Business Network (CBN) under Shanghai Media Group (SMG) are the only two finance channels covering the whole country.

A provincial satellite TV channel has to pay approximately RMB2-4 million (US$300,906- 601,811) every year to each local cable TV network operator for its coverage in a provincial level city in China, according to China’s Provincial Satellite TV Coverage Research Report, released recently by China Radio, Film & Television magazine. The landing fee has become the second largest budget item, following buying TV dramas, for most provincial level satellite TV channels.

In 2009, eight provincial level satellite TV channels each spent over RMB100 million (US$15 million) in landing fees. Jiangsu Satellite TV and Zhejiang Satellite TV each spent RMB120 million (US$18 million). In 2010, China’s provincial-level satellite TV channels have greatly increased their landing budgets, including nine channels exceeding RMB100 million (US$15 million) and eight channels exceeding RMB90 million (US$14 million). For some channels, landing fees occupy more than 30% of their operating costs.

Hunan Satellite TV occupied a 5% rating share among TV viewers under 35, topping all provincial-level satellite TV channels and trailing only CCTV-1 from January to September 2010, according to a press release on its official website. Hunan Satellite TV is also the first choice among China’s young and female viewers, said the official website.

Dragon Satellite TV will launch a second season of China's Got Talent (Zhongguo Daren Xiu) in 2011, having bought a three year format copyright from Britain, disclosed director Jin Lei. The champion Liu Wei will participate in the world performance travel with other winners from foreign countries, according to the contract signed between Dragon Satellite TV and British copyright owner Fremantle Media. Las Vegas will be one destination.