China Media Monitor Headlines Archives

Xunlei, a popular download manager and BitTorrent client, is not worried it will be shut down by the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT), according to the Chief Operating Officer Luo Weimin. He said SARFT's current campaign to shut down all unlicensed online video sites will not affect Xunlei because the site does not host any actual content. Rather, Xunlei only provides software for users. He said he expected more Internet users to turn to Xunlei in the near future, thanks to the recent closures of other BitTorrent sites.

The China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) network covered 215 Chinese cities across all of China's 34 provinces by December 7. The company responsible for CMMB business operations - China Broadcasting Satellite Mobile Corporation – plans to expand the network to 300 cities by the end of 2009, according to CEO Zeng Huiming. He delivered this update at the 2nd China Broadcasting Industry Trends Annual Conference organized by the Corporation on December 10.

China's Copyright Bureau plans to release new regulations related to online copyright infringements in 2010, reports Beijing Daily. The new regulations will set out enforcement procedures and penalties for copyright infringement cases. China also plans to amend its existing Copyright Law to add extra provisions related to information communicated via the Internet.

Jiangsu Satellite TV will stop broadcasting its the variety show Who Dares Sing! (Shui Gan Lai Changge) at the end of 2009, reports Xinmin Evening News. Jiangsu TV started broadcasting the show at the end of 2008 after licensing the format from the UK's ITV. Now industry rumors say the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV's recent policy to limit appearances of Taiwan and Hong Kong hosts on mainland TV has forced the station to suspend the show, which features mainland and Taiwan hosts. Jiangsu TV, however, claims it is ending the broadcasts because its contract with ITV has expired. It also claims the program's ratings have started to fall.

TV shopping service provider Oriental Shopping has disclosed huge growth in annual sales revenues since it was first established in 2003, reports Oriental Morning Post. Annual sales revenues have jumped from RMB156 million (US$22.84 million) in 2003 to RMB 2.8 billion (US$409.96 million) in 2009.

The Shanghai Media Group (SMG) is currently the majority share holder with 45% of stocks and Korean CJ is the second highest investor.

Oriental Shopping targets high income earners and was the first Chinese TV shopping company to market cars and diamonds. It plans to expand its services to China’s northern cities in the next five years.