China Media Monitor Headlines Archives

Chinese portal Sohu recently took legal action against leading online video site Youku, claiming that it had broadcast the Chinese TV drama Jintai-Pan (Jin Da Ban) and the film Stubborn Robert (Juejiang De Luobo) for which Sohu owns the exclusive online broadcasting rights, reports National Business Daily. The case has been filed with the Beijing Haidian District People’s Court. “Youku will be faced with endless copyright infringement cases if it continues to webcast pirated content”, claimed an unnamed source at Sohu.

China’s Nanning TV, Malaysia’s Jia Yu TV and Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) will co-host a Chinese New Year Gala, reports Nanning Daily. All three TV stations will simultaneously broadcast the gala on February 12. Nanning TV station began organizing the Chinese New Year Gala together with VTC in 2007 as part of China’s efforts to build cultural relations with neighboring countries.

Heilongjiang Xinyang Technology Co Ltd, which is under the wing of the Heilongjiang animation production base, and Lanshan Shenggongshan Traveling Development Co Ltd from Shandong province announced their agreement to jointly invest in the production of the 3D animation series Talented Boy Xiang Tuo (Shentong Xiang Tuo) on January 27, reports Xinhua News Agency. The series, which tells the life story of Confucius’s teacher Xiang Tuo, will consist of sixty 15 minute episodes.

China Satellite Mobile Broadcasting Corporation, the mainland’s China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB) operator, plans to attract 10 million new CMMB users in 2010, reports CWW. The provider also hopes to gain up to 140 million users in the next five years. Currently subscribers are able to watch roughly seven TV channels for free via their CMMB devices. The network presently covers 280 cities and the operator plans to cover all of China’s cities by the end of March this year with the exception of some parts of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Tibet due to the severe environmental conditions in these areas.

The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and the Agricultural Bank of China signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement on January 28, reports Guangming Daily. According to the terms of the agreement, the Agricultural Bank will provide GAPP with RMB50 billion（US$7.32 billion） in loans over the next three years. GAPP plans to use the capital to establish a number of extensive as well as, internationally influential, publishing groups.