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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (2133)	12/19/2003 10:54:25 AM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

CHINA: Beijing drops foreign TV channels Several key European and Asian cable-television channels have been dropped from distribution in parts of Beijing, just two weeks before the government is due to announce a list of approved channels for the country next year South China Morning Post Friday, December 19, 2003 By Andrew K. Collier Several key European and Asian cable-television channels have been dropped from distribution in parts of Beijing, just two weeks before the government is due to announce a list of approved channels for the country next year. Residents of several housing estates in Beijing said Italy's RAI, TV5 of France, Germany's DW and Korean TV were among channels that had been cancelled for distribution. Media executives speculated that the cut-off - and it is not clear how widespread it is - could be related to last-minute bargaining before the approved channels were announced. "They said at the beginning of the year they wouldn't put up any longer with these non-approved channels," the head of one foreign cable channel said. A representative for TV5 in Thailand was not aware of the cancellation. Executives from the other channels in Europe could not be reached for comment. An official for one of the housing estates said staff from the department responsible for licensing of television and radio requested they stop distributing the channels. China has granted licences to 30 channels to be distributed in approved foreign compounds, hotels and housing estates. The list does not include RAI, DW or the Korean channel, although it does include TV5. Other channels manage to have their signals viewed in some locations by negotiating deals with the estates and hotels. In addition, over time, the number of "approved" locations has widened to include housing estates where locals and foreigners live. Phoenix Satellite TV, which has approval for hotels and for Guangdong, reaches many other viewers across China through years of cultivating local relationships, but still remains in a grey area for much of its distribution. Each of the approved channels must pay about US$100,000 per year as a so-called distribution fee for use of China's main satellite, Sinosat, television executives said. Two years ago, China began forcing the foreign channels to switch from other satellites to Sinosat to distribute their signals. The move was widely viewed as a way to find a new source of revenue for the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and gradually tighten control over foreign media by grouping all signals in one place. Getting a signal into hotels and compounds is not a highly profitable business because the viewership is small. Most of the channels have revenue of only a few million US dollars a year and many substantially less. Profits are also meagre. However, these groups see themselves gaining a foothold in the market and establishing a brand name that may eventually grow. Date Posted: 12/19/2003 asiamedia.ucla.edu