Shanghai TV Festival Editorial (Rowan Simons)

The Shanghai TV Festival is the biggest and most important professional TV event in the world's biggest TV market - the main window through which the international TV community can further their business with Chinese counterparts.

Unlike most fairs, the STVF celebrates recent achievements, showcases new products and provides official platforms right across the TV hardware and software sectors. With the full support of SARFT and the Shanghai Municipal Government, the STVF is also the launch pad for new initiatives.

For international companies considering the potential of the China market after accession to the WTO, the STVF is hard to beat as a market research venue and Shanghai is impossible to ignore as a centre of future operations. For those already in the market, the STVF is quite simply a "must show".

While there is certainly some jostling for position among major western players, for domestic media enterprises, many of which are constantly challenged by changes in technology, the STVF offers a unique chance to meet directly with senior international representatives of several leading suppliers at one time.

With all this activity concentrated into five days, the STVF is also an important event for Television Asia, CMM-I and our partners at SARFT Information Center, AC Nielsen, CVSC, X&L and other specialist companies that track developments in what could hardly be a faster changing industry.

When I filed my first report from the STVF in 1990, China had no cable subscribers or satellite TV services and the Shanghai market was dominated by a single broadcaster, Shanghai TV. In those simpler times, foreign participation at the STVF Program Market was led by independent distributors. Among them, (Sophia) Evans Communications and Robert Chua Productions.

In a sign of the changing times, both of those industry pioneers may be expected to make appearances at this year's event for their respective new US employers, Disney and Turner.

The Organising Committee has declared that the STVF is aiming to become a world famous TV festival by the time of the 10th STVF in 2004. This is a noble aim, but one that has already been achieved. For while all efforts to build a better Festival should be welcomed, there can now be little doubt that the STVF is the premier event for China.

I hope this Special Report helps to reflect the STVF's important status in the world of broadcasting and leads to greater co-operation between professionals in all spheres of media business.