SARFT Strengthens Foreign Media Bans
BEIJING – On August 4, Xinhua News - the state owned Chinese news agency – reported "new rules" published by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), which stated that China would not allow any more foreign satellite TV stations to have landing rights in the country with immediate effect.
The agency quoted anonymous regulators as saying the rules were designed to strengthen oversight of the industry while the government "finds ways to regulate (existing foreign media in the market) to prevent harmful programs from entering."
The freeze on issuing landing rights for new foreign satellite TV stations is expected to have the most immediate impact on Disney, which applied for a limited broadcasting license in 2003 and is one of the few major media companies without a channel in the market. Viacom's Nickelodeon channel also applied for a second limited broadcasting license in 2003, and could also be affected.
Foreign players with mass broadcasting rights in China at present include Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Viacom's MTV and News Corp-backed Phoenix Satellite Television Co. Ltd, all of which broadcast in Mandarin to Cantonese-speaking Guangdong (CMM passim).
The move follows hot on the heels of SARFT's reiteration of already existing rules banning commercial relationships with TV broadcasters.
"Radio and television stations are not allowed to rent their channels to overseas institutions, co-operate with overseas institutions in joint ventures or co-operative projects, or launch any joint venture radio and television programmes or live broadcasts," the administration announced on its website July 12.
The announcement directly addresses reports in the People's Daily last month that provincial broadcaster Qinghai TV had been forced to cancel plans to partner with News Corp. in what had been billed as an equity-based TV alliance to broadcast Chinese-language programming from News subsidiary STAR, on a nationwide basis.
The announcement - part of a general move on the part of the government to reassert control over the entire media and entertainment industry - is bad news for poorly performing provincial satellite channels in need of capital and content and the foreign companies that thought they could offer back door entry into the China market.
While SARFT's landmark November 2004 regulations made provision for foreign joint-venture production companies, they did not allow foreign involvement in station management. Supplementary regulations were later issued to re-enforce this total ban on foreign direct editorial involvement.
The latest announcement also leaves Sino/foreign partnerships in a very uncertain position. In particular, Viacom's already operating but "not yet registered" TV production companies with Shanghai Media Group and BTV Media are sure to come under intense SARFT scrutiny.
The main impetus behind this and other recent moves to rein in the industry is the realization on the part of the government that it is not possible to commercialize the media without diminishing their propagandizing potential. Further moves in this direction are inevitable over the coming 12-24 months.
SARFT has also said that regional radio and TV stations will have to pass tough assessments in order to get permission to attend international conventions, seminars, festivals and programme activities involving foreign media groups. SARFT and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will also monitor involvement by domestic media in PRC events with international media personnel and organizations.
This re-centralization of international exchanges repeats the pattern of the 1990's when provincial level broadcasters were initially given more freedom to exchange with foreign companies direct until SARFT (then MRFT) felt it was losing control and these permissions were rescinded.
It should be noted, however, that the previous effect of restricting broadcaster's international exchanges simply resulted in program trade transferring from the state sector to the independent sector – which is much harder for SARFT to control.
This time round, SARFT is trying to counter this trend by leading organization of China's unified presence at international trade fairs and by sanctioning the China Radio, Film and TV Expo that it controls directly through China Media Group (see Events).