China Media Monitor Headlines Archives

The premiere of the US-UK co-production Avatar will be postponed from January 2 to 4, according to Weng Li, the spokesman of the Chinese distributor China Film Group. The film's director, James Cameron, will attend mainland premier in China.

2009 was a prosperous year for China's broadcast industry, according to an official speech at the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV's New Year Film Reception on December 18. SARFT Minister Wang Taihua said the broadcast industry continued to grow throughout the year, with radio, cable TV and digital cable TV network expansion on track. The film industry also continued to grow, with around 450 films produced in China and more than RMB6 billion at the box office. Wang Taihua promised SARFT will continue to increase international cooperation and communication next year. The reception ended with a screening of Bodyguards and Assassins (Shiyue Weicheng).

China's national broadcaster CCTV expects New Media businesses to generate 25% of its annual revenues within 3 years, reports Beijing Business Daily. At the recent annual auction of CCTV's prime time advertising space, the broadcaster offered discounts on the ad rates for its New Media platforms for the first time. CCTV's key New Media businesses are currently mobile phone TV and the services provided via the CCTV.com website.

Jiangxi TV officially launched a TV shopping channel called Fashion Shopping (Fengshang Gouwu) on December 21, after the trial broadcasts launched on October 18 proved successful. The new channel sells a mix of IT products, fashion, lifestyle and home furnishings and accessories. It airs 24 hours a day to 11 cities in Jiangxi province. The station plans to extend coverage across China in March 2010.

Beijing Ringier International Advertising Company Ltd on November 30 re-launched itself as Ringier China, a wholly owned foreign invested company 100% owned by Ringer AG in Switzerland. The multinational media company said the re-branding reflects and leverages Ringier's on-going business growth from a regional company 10 years ago to a national company today. It also reflects the company's continuous long term commitment in China. Registration of the Shanghai and Guangzhou branches will be finalized by April 2010.