Everything about China Central Television totally explained
China Central Television or
Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as
CCTV is the major
television broadcaster in
Mainland China. Organizationally, it's a sub-
ministry of the
People's Republic of China's
central government within the
State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. As the PRC government controls the station, it doesn't have any
editorial independence.
Its news reporting follows parameters directed by the
Propaganda Department of the
Communist Party of China. Most of its programming, however, is a mix of comedy and dramatic programming, the majority of which consists of Chinese
soap operas. Like many media outlets in China, CCTV has had its state subsidy reduced dramatically in the 1990s, and hence finds it necessary to balance its role as a government agency with the practical fact that it must attract viewers so that it can sell commercial advertising.
In searching for viewers, CCTV has found itself in competition with local television stations (which are also state run) which have been creating increasingly large media groups in order to compete with CCTV.
History
CCTV first broadcast on
September 2,
1958, under the name
Beijing Television, after an experimental broadcast on
May 1 1958. The name was changed to CCTV on
May 1,
1978. In
2008, the new
CCTV Headquarters will open.
At the end of 1970s, like many other Chinese TV stations, CCTV only had one channel. At that time, it only had evening programs, with the broadcast usually ending at midnight. During the summer and winter time, it occasionally broadcasts during daytime for the students who were on their breaks. But by 1985, CCTV was China's major television network. In 1987, CCTV became famous for its faithful adaption of
Dream of the Red Chamber. It was a
36-episode TV series or "Hong Lou Meng" Today that series is available on
DVD and is still very popular.
Today, CCTV has 16 national channels, most with 24-hour broadcasting, and a
High Definition channel; at times airing certain US programs such as, and
Lost, Documentaries, Movies, and new Chinese television series shot in HD.
Programs
Its thirty-minute evening news,
Xinwen Lianbo ("network news", "news relay"), is on the air at 7:00 PM Beijing Time. By far, it's the most known and watched news program in China which mainland Chinese watch to keep up with the government's politics. Although news reform has been a prominent feature of CCTV networks, the Evening News has remained relatively the same since its first appearance in the early 1980s, having mainly focused on leaders receiving foreign guests and going on visits to foreign countries, the CPC's leaders having top meetings or conferences, and stories of courage that are supposed to exemplify one form or another of communism. Many important political news stories are broadcast through that program. This program is uploaded onto
YouTube daily by
Duowei, a Chinese news network.
Its yearly special program of celebrating the Chinese New Year, the
CCTV New Year's Gala, is the most watched program. In 2007 research data shows that the Gala was watched by over 800 million people all over the world. It started in the early 1980s. Each year, some singers and comedians become famous because of their single performance that night.
Personalities
Producing a variety of different programming, China Central Television has a number of different program hosts,
news anchors, correspondents, and
contributors which appear throughout daily programing on the network.
CCTV-1 (National network) anchors
CCTV-9 (English network) program hosts
Aurora Carlson - Rediscovering China
James Chau - World Insight
Yin Chen - Travelogue
Dang Bing - Nature and Science
Li Dongning (newscaster) - CCTV News
Marc Edwards (TV) - Travelogue
Liang Honn - Asia Today
Jennifer Hsiung - Sports Scene
Eyee Hsu - Up Close
Ji Xiao Jun - Culture Express, New Frontiers
Michele Lean - Travelogue, Center Stage
Liu Xin - World Wide Watch
Edwin Maher - CCTV News
Mark "Dashan" Rowswell - Communicate in Chinese
Alistair Shewring - Sports Scene
Ja Thamrong - Biz China
Tian Wei - Dialogue
Zhao Bin - Documentary
Zhu Jun - Around China
CCTV-9 correspondents and substitute anchors
Shaun Duff - Weather
Jennifer Eden - Weather
Halla Mohieddeen - Weather
Channels
CCTV has sixteen different channels of programming content and competes with television stations run by local governments such as BTV and foreign programming which can be readily received via satellite television. Unlike how the US name their channels, most CCTV channels are listed in sequential order with no discerning descriptions, for example CCTV-1, CCTV-2, etc, similar to those channels in Europe.
The sixteen channels are:
CCTV-1 Mixture
CCTV-2 Economy
CCTV-3 Arts (similar to ARTV and France 4)
CCTV-4 International, in Chinese
CCTV-5 Sports
CCTV-6 Movies and series
CCTV-7 Military/Agriculture
CCTV-8 TV drama
CCTV-9 International, in English
CCTV-10 Science and Education
CCTV-11 Opera
CCTV-12 Society and Law
CCTV-News -- 24-hour News
CCTV-Children -- Children's channel
CCTV-Music -- Music
CCTV-E -- in Spanish
CCTV-F -- in French
CCTV-HD -- High-definition programming
Overseas broadcasting
It is possible to receive channels CCTV-4 (overseas channel), CCTV-9 (overseas channel targeted at an English-speaking audience), and CCTV-E&F (overseas channel targeted at Spanish-speaking and French-speaking audiences) outside China by using a Digital Video Broadcast signal. CCTV has just recently switched from analog to DVB primarily due to better signal quality and the ability to charge for reception (about 10 USD per year subscription). The overseas channels are relayed off many different satellites around the world.
The English language CCTV-9 feed is available in the United States on DirecTV channel 455 and Dish Network Channel 265. CCTV-9 is also available in the United States on Time Warner Cable, channel 134 and Cox Cable, channel 322 in most areas. In the United Kingdom, CCTV-9 is available on Sky Digital channel 511. In Barbados, CCTV 9 is available via the subscription service Multi-Choice TV on channel 209. CCTV-9 is also available as a live feed from their website. The Spanish and French service (CCTV E&F) is available on Dish Network Channel 884, but not from DirecTV at this time. The Chinese language channels CCTV-1, CCTV-3 and CCTV-6 are also available via Dish Network's Great Wall TV Package and Rogers Cable in Canada.
CCTV-4 split into 3 channels beginning April 1, 2007, namely CCTV International Asia, CCTV International Europe, and CCTV International America, in order to improve service for audiences around the world.
The CCTV channels 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 can also be obtained for free as peer-to-peer internet feeds through various sources.
Further Information
Get more info on 'China Central Television'.
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