Chinese Embassy Bombing Causes Cancellation of US & UK TV Projects
BEIJING & REGIONS --- TV distributors and advertising companies are among the first US and UK economic casualities of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade as state broadcasters protest in the only way they can.
Reports from CMM correspondents in regional centers confirm that US and UK programming has been removed from schedules amid fierce rhetoric from local broadcasters following the central lead.
Among the programmes to have been affected in Beijing are coverage of NBA basketball and the English FA Cup final on 22nd May. Although broadcasters Beijing TV say they will broadcast the annual soccer match, a filming visit to the UK by sports journalists has been cancelled along with commentary positions and unilateral satellite links.
Reports from Wuhan and Nanjing say that commercials for US products were unilaterally pulled from schedules in protest, while major agencies report that they are being advised by Advertising Departments not to place campaigns for companies with US, UK or other Nato country links until the situation becomes clearer.
Other reports indicate that US, UK, French and German films and TV series have been cut from schedules, in many cases being replaced by Eastern European and Russian programmes in foreign slots.
Meanwhile, China's movie industry reacted by boycotting American films in cinemas and showing old titles, including those depicting Chinese soldiers fighting against the United States during the Korean War. The new style line-up had already started with the screening of anti-Nazi films from the former Yugoslavia soon after Nato commenced its air strikes in March.
The bombing of the embassy could not have come at a worse time for western broadcasters, many of whom had believed they were on the verge of a breakthrough into China’s closed media industries.
The bombing also comes at the height of a national campaign to crackdown on "illegal" reception of foreign satellite TV services and is sure to help guarantee that the campaign is both more thorough and longer term than may otherwise have been the case. (see related CMM EDITORIAL)
Although western press reports have suggested that Chinese responses have been organized by the government, CMM can confirm that much of the pressure on TV stations to remove US product has come from ordinary people who have written or phoned to complain.