Shanghai Media Group Plans English-Language TV Channel
SHANGHAI (AP)--China's powerful Shanghai Media Group said Thursday it plans to set up the country's second English-language satellite TV channel, potentially challenging national broadcaster China Central Television for foreign audiences.
A spokeswoman for the group, Tang Lijun, said it was awaiting approval for the new channel from industry regulator, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
"We are now in the active preparation stage," Tang said in a telephone interview.
An SMG executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group was ready to launch the new channel - to be called Dragon International - and has been orally notified by the television administration that it would receive approval to broadcast within China.
However, he said SMG was still hoping for government approval to broadcast to North America, where it would compete directly for viewers with CCTV-9, the country's first English-language channel.
"We face a big barrier in going up against CCTV-9 for approval because the government is happy with having one station getting across what it wants people to know about China," said the executive. "Even if we focussed on cultural programs rather than news they would still see us as a competitor."
Both CCTV-9 and Dragon International would be free-to-air, meaning they wouldn't charge subscription fees.
CCTV-9 was launched in September 2000 as part of a campaign to present the Communist Party's views and counter foreign criticism of the country's human rights record and lack of democracy. It began broadcasting in the U.S. in 2002 through an exchange agreement with News Corp.'s Star TV.
SMG's 24-hour news and entertainment satellite channel, Dragon TV, already produces some English-language programming, including shows for CCTV-9. Dragon TV is broadcast across China and to Japan and Australia via satellite.
The 11.7 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) company was formed in 2001 from the merger of several Shanghai-based terrestrial and satellite stations. Its 12 channels dominate the market in Shanghai, which has a population of 20 million. In August, it was named China's second largest broadcaster after CCTV.
上海文广新闻传媒集团拟推出英语卫视
中国颇有影响力的媒体机构上海文广新闻传媒集团(Shanghai Media Group)周四表示，公司计划开办中国第二个英语卫星电视频道，这可能向中国中央电视台(CCTV)针对外国观众的国际频道发出潜在挑战。
上海文广新闻传媒集团发言人表示，新频道正在等待行业监管机构国家广播电影电视总局(State Administration of Radio, Film and Television)的审批。
该发言人在接受电话采访时表示，他们正在为新频道的开播作著积极准备。
一位不愿透露姓名的文广新闻传媒集团管理人士表示，新频道将被命名为Dragon International，相关准备工作业已就绪，国家广电总局也已口头批准新频道在中国播出。
但是该管理人士表示，文广新闻传媒集团仍希望政府能批准新频道向北美播出，虽然这可能对首家中国英语频道中央电视台九套节目(CCTV-9)构成直接挑战。
该管理人士称，要获准同CCTV-9展开竞争存在很大障碍，因为中国政府乐于通过一个平台向人们传播其希望人们了解中国的内容，即使Dragon International将更关注于文化而非新闻节目。
上海文广新闻传媒集团成立于2001年，由几家上海地方电视台和广播电台合并组建而成，拥有资产人民币117亿元（合14亿美元）。集团旗下的广播电视媒体拥有12套模拟电视频道，2,000万观众群，雄居上海市场霸主地位。上海文广新闻传媒集团曾于8月份获得中国第二大广播媒体的称号，仅次于中央电视台。
CCTV-9和Dragon International都是免费频道。
