Media and Entertainment
China's Cable TV Industry Growing Strong
China's cable television industry now boasts more than 1,200 cable stations for 40 million subscribers in 29 provinces and regions. It is estimated that the total audience is more than 200 million people. A survey that was recently conducted for the industry revealed that cable TV subscribers spend 40 percent of their TV viewing time watching cable TV stations. Shanghai Cable TV Station now has 1.82 million users, making it the largest in the country. Cable TV will connect with the Internet once the technology is added, an official with the national organization for cable TV said. After 2000, cable TV subscribers will exceed 60 million with an audience of about 300 million, he said.
Xinhua News Agency (PRC), 01/06/97
China Turns Up Regulations on Chinese Films
Regulations on Chinese films that plan on participating in foreign film festivals, have been strengthened by MRFT's Film Bureau. No matter who owns the overseas copyright, the bureau decreed, the Chinese government still has the power to decide whether a movie can participate in foreign film festivals. The regulations even stressed that only the film's producer, not the distributor or investor, has the right to apply to attend foreign film festivals.
Brent's China Entertainment Network (U.S.), 01/01/97
China's Educational TV Draws Big Audience
In recent years, Chinese have more options to choose from on the television but the channels which feature programs on how to use computers or that give tips on high school entrance exams are doing well in the ratings. Shanghai Education Television now has a 17 percent market share of the Shanghai TV audience in the late evening, according to A.C. Nielson SRG data. That is a pretty hefty sum in a city whose population is 13 million and has a television penetration of more than 90 percent. In China, educational channels are free to run commercials and fund themselves so these ratings are a big attraction for multinational advertisers like Pepsi's KFC restaurant chain. But why the big allure? People are saying it is because they learn a lot, from computers to English. Media researchers say that China's appetite for information helps them adapt to change. Industry analysts say that being attached to educational programming in China, whether an advertiser or programmer, is a wise political choice.
The Asian Wall Street Journal (U.S.), 02/04/97
Home Shopping Networks Thrive in China
Despite the blatantly Western influences of the home shopping network concept, Chinese authorities do not appear to be discouraging this retailing trend. The home shopping idea can bring big business to China and it is a good tool for smaller Western companies looking for a way into China. "We want to develop proprietary brand names, which is good for small and medium sized manufacturing companies who don't have the resources to market their own brands," says William Schereck, president of the TV Shopping Network. Starting from last July, TVSN has been broadcasting a live service via satellite and pulled down since December in China. Most of the viewers are expatriates who can own dishes under China's strict media laws. This year it hopes to distribute through some cable channels. The cable operators will get a five percent commission for the product's net value, minus shipping and tax. "We will become a contributor to China's development as so we get cooperations from the government," Schereck says. It will be difficult to establish the infrastructure that allows consumers to instantly obtain the items that flash across their TV screens as well as provide after sales service. Some have begun to build warehouses but the road and rail system remains inadequate. China has a long way to go still because although there is 250 million TV owners in China with a 97 percent penetration in Beijing, according to Survey Research Group, there is still a low ownership rate of telephones. Asia Market Intelligence estimates there are only 2.6 million telephones in Beijing; 3 million in Shanghai and 5.5 million in Guangzhou, which is the highest penetration of any region of China. Mobile phones bring the number a little higher but not much. Home shopping services are hurt by these statistics. Switchboards also don't have the capacity for so many calls at once. Asian switchboards fall way short of those in developed markets. Even Hong Kong doesn't have the infrastructure for this. Payment is also a difficult issue in China where credit card usage is minimal. However, in spite of these problems. The attraction of millions of households will have appeal to many shopping networks. "Sheer demand may help to develop the infrastructure significantly," says Wick Smith, managing director of advertising agency BBDO in Hong Kong.
China Trade Report (Hong Kong), 02/01/97
Head of CCTV Says that Chinese TV Must Halt Western Programming Invasion
At a recent conference of the Chinese TV Arts Association, Tang Weiguang, head of China Central Television issued an attack against Western television. "The task facing Chinese television is to protect its own base by using high quality programming to satisfy viewer needs, by fighting against the invasion of Western television and by preventing the infiltration of corrupt Western culture," he said. He explained that these were the instructions of Chinese President Jiang Zemin and head of the propaganda department Ding Guangen who believe that television should "talk politics, maintain the correct orientation of public opinion and improve the level of guiding public opinion." It is reported that Yang has a more conciliatory tone in private meetings.
Brent's China Entertainment Network (U.S.), 02/01/97
Crisis in the Chinese Film Industry
It appears that Mainland China's film industry is having a serious slowdown at the box office. In recent years foreign films have been dominating the Chinese market. Distributors in big cities are reporting that foreign films accounted for 70-80 percent of the total box office profits in 1996. This came mostly from the 14 revenue-sharing movies that were exhibited in 1996, 11 of these coming from Hollywood. Shanghai's top 10 movies were all from Hollywood except for one Jackie Chan movie from Hong Kong. The demise of China's movie industry can mostly be blamed on China's policies toward the cultural sector. In 1996 censors only cleared 40 films for distribution by October, while 90 other movies were waiting to be approved. The government said that one "priority" movie should be shown each month. The definition of "priority" is a movie which the government believes to uphold socialist values.
Brent's China Entertainment Network (U.S.), 02/01/97
Sino-U.S. Cooperation China's Economic Imbalance VCD Sales
Warner Home Video signed a one-year contract last July with the Shenzhen Xianke Group of China to begin selling five American films on video compact disc and laser disc in mid-March. Shenzhen Xianke's Chairman of the Board said that his company has already produced 10,000 VCDs and 1,000 LDs which include such movies as "The Fugitive", "Rain Man" and "Outbreak". Xianke intends to soon release another nine U.S. films. A percentage of the disc sales will be paid to Warner, said Ye.
China Economic Information (PRC), 02/28/97
China Issues Film Censorship Rules
Detailed guidelines for film censorship was recently issued by the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television. The new guidelines published in 28 articles cover animated films, documentaries, science and feature films. The sweeping restrictions include anything which would "romanticize crime" or "lauds the omnipotence of religion." The articles also prohibit full-frontal nudity, homosexuality, "long kisses that arouse feelings of excitement" and anything mildly suggesting adultery. Low quality background music and scenes showing the killing of endangered species are also forbidden. The Chinese film community has not gone through any dramatic changes as a result of the rules. The only difference now is that the government now has official guidelines to point to when editing the film.
Brent's China Entertainment Network (U.S.), 03/01/97
China's Entertainment Market Plagued by Censorship Concerns
Revenues generated by U.S. exports of motion pictures, home videos and television programming totaled $8.6 billion in 1994. In 1999 the figure is expected to reach $12.9 billion which makes entertainment products a leading U.S. export. As a result of improvements to U.S.-China bilateral relations (with regard to market access and intellectual property rights) some recent films have done well in China. However, these two important areas may soon be hurt again which has given rise to a new period of worries for Hollywood. The government has once again begun to censor programming and worked to halt foreign "bourgeois" ideas. Chinese officials who guide film and television content worry that foreign films are growing more popular and generating more profit than domestic films. As a result, foreign films have come under attack by China's highest Party propaganda organs. Officials say that they are a threat to traditional Chinese values, a code word to promote patriotic sentiment in order to solidify the Party's control over the content and dissemination of information. In a 15,000 word manifesto, the Communist Party has documented the steps that must be taken to recreate "spiritual civilization" calling on officials to be the "soul engineers" and preserve the future of Chinese culture. The document, "Construction of Spiritual Civilization" calls for increased political intervention in almost every aspect of popular culture, like film, television and print media. Last year Propaganda Chief Ding Guangen initiated a campaign to focus on "politics at every level," where editors, studio chiefs and publishers were instructed to support current politics in all forms of artistic content. Many independent Chinese films were banned as a result. The new campaign has attracted international attention and in December of 1996 many U.S. film stars signed a letter to the Chinese ambassador to the U.S., Li Daoyu, which stated that the PRC government's restrictions on the rights of Chinese producers, directors, distributors, writers and others to express themselves as they wished was "wholly unacceptable." Beijing's preferences aside, foreign films continue to outperform domestic films at the box office and domestic film production has dropped dramatically.
The China Business Review (U.S.), 03/01/97
New Import Tariffs to be Collected in July
Beginning on July 1, two new tariffs will be collected on beer, crude oil and film imports, said Lin Jianping, an official with the Guangzhou Customs Office. Another tax called compound duty will be collected on the imports of video recorders and cameras. Existing duties on these products will be phased out to ensure the general tariff does not rise. The tariff rate on beer will be 42 cents per liter. The rate on video recorders will be 60 percent when the price is lower than $3,000 after tax.
CIEC Economic Brief (PRC), 03/28/97
Foreigners Allowed to Invest in Movie Theaters
For the first time in the PRC's 48 year history, it will allow foreign companies to invest in movie theaters, slightly opening the cultural sector. Ding Guangen, chief propagandist of the Communist Party, gave the green light last week at a film industry conference. Foreigners may now invest in movie theaters, in construction and in renovation, according to sources. At first, the new rules will apply on a trial basis to Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing and could eventually be expanded to other cities. As ticket sales are dwindling and cinemas are run down, the sector is in dire need of cash so authorities may not have much choice but to open up to the modern equipment, capital and management available from foreign investors. Industry analysts say that controls in the sector are only being loosened begrudgingly as the cultural sector has been controlled tightly for decades. One manifestation of the internal struggle is a new rule which ban theaters showing foreign movies on local holidays. There could still be some difficulties in the sector, however, as it is not clear what percentage of shares a foreign company may own and who may manage the cinemas. Of course, the government will have absolute say as to what movies can be shown at the cinema. Imported movies are still highly restricted. "The cinema business only makes sense if you allow good movies to be produced or to come in," said Kenny Bloom, director of Beijing-based Dragon Entertainment. "With so many restrictions, how can you be comfortable investing in a cinema?"
The Asian Wall Street Journal (U.S.), 04/02/97