China Media Monitor Headlines Archives

188 mainland newspapers and magazines to either stopped publishing or were acquired by other publishing groups by November 2009, according to the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP). Government funding has been withdrawn from most newspapers and periodical publishers under the publishing reforms initiated by GAPP last year, forcing commercially uncompetitive publications to withdraw from the market.

Mainland web portal Sohu has won a copyright infringement suit against the online video site Youku, according to Sina. On December 16, the Beijing Haidian District People's Court found Youku guilty of hosting four films in contravention of Youku's exclusive broadcasting rights. The court ordered Youku to pay Sohu RMB105,000 (US15,373.35) in compensation. Another video site, Voole, also won a copyright infringement suit against Youku on November 26.

Mainland video site Voole has announced it will sue all companies who placed their ads before, during or after pirated content on rival site Youku, reports Sina. Voole said it is gathering evidence on the advertising featured on 589 pirated TV dramas and films hosted on Youku. Voole brought a similar case against Coca-Cola in the Beijing Haidian District People's Court on December 15 but the case was dismissed on grounds of insufficient evidence.

Xinhua News Agency is set to launch a satellite TV channel called China International TV in 2010 after launching trial broadcasts on November 18, reports Tencent. After the official launch, the channel will air China-related and international news in Chinese after its official launch. English language broadcasts will be introduced at a later date. The channel will cover the Asian-Pacific region at the start and later expand to Europe and America. "Many world famous news agencies have their own TV platform to broadcast news. Xinhua News Agency has made the effort to join them," said Audio-Video Department Manager Zhang Hao.

Leading mainland online video site Youku plans to raise the rates for some of its ad space by 20% to 30% next year, according to Vice President of Operations and CEO Executive Assistant Wei Ming. Although Youku has more than 300 advertising clients - including manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods, cars and IT products – its revenues are still insufficient to cover broadband fees. Most mainstream online video sites in China are operating at a loss. Broadband and copyright fees are their largest expenditures.