The presence of television is influencing the future of China in ways that no other technology or human agency can (J. Lull). Given its' importance, both culturally and politically, the television industry is one of the most interesting industries in China. However, a quick review of regulations and market realities showed that there are virtually no foreign channels in the country and probably won’t be for a while therefore the focus of this report is foreign television content entering China - and, to a slightly lesser degree, Chinese content in global markets. All video genres are discussed here, with news and current affairs programming being a special case. The first part of this report is a short introduction that includes the history of political influence and a review of existing regulations. After this overview, the industry and major players (namely CCTV, Xinhua, News Corp, Phoenix, Disney, Discovery, Viacom) are introduced and analyzed. Here, the issue of cultural imperialism, or Western media influence, is elaborated on. Then, the paper discusses the opportunities for international firms in the Chinese media market and the tension between Government control and market liberalisation. A compelling answer to the question of who will dominate the domestic market in ten years is developed. Finally, the impact of Chinese content on international markets will be assessed within the same timeframe. This is particularly interesting as media is not a traditional manufacturing industry and poses different challenges i.e. creative skills.

Textprobe: Kapitel 3.2., Rules and Regulations: Various regulations represent formal and informal barriers to entry for foreign entrants. Formal Rules include: - Foreign investors can only invest in production Joint Ventures with a registered capital of minimum 5 million RMB for a maximum 49% equity stake. - Later this was restricted further to only one JV per foreign company. Also, no shareholding in broadcasting companies is allowed. The general message set by the Government is clear: Foreign investment is permitted as long as the Chinese party remains in control of the venture and as long as any goodwill that flows from the venture accrues to the JV and not the foreign partner directly”. - Import quotas were set in 1995 that allowed a maximum of 10 Hollywood Blockbuster hits per channel and year. These rules were later relaxed. - A Rule from 1994 limits the allowed quota of foreign drama content to 25% (15% during prime time) on any channel. In 2009, SARFT issued a new rule that limits the number of dramas (domestic or foreign). - All imported content must be screened and approved by SARFT before being allowed to be broadcasted. - Current affairs and news remain 100% state-controlled, while non-controversial genres such as arts and leisure, sports, fashion are relatively unregulated. There is, however, a ban on foreign animation imports. - In 2004, newly elected Hu Jintao started to reduce the influence of Western media that were seen as ‘harmful’ to Confucian traditions. Broadcasters had to dedicate more primetime slots to local productions that highlight family values and foster a harmonious society. - Restrictions for foreign broadcasters and publishers to enter China. As such, the import of content is handled through a Government ‘licensed’ agencies that sells onto domestic channels. - All satellite channels have to go through a central satellite hub and cable operators can only downlink from one satellite. This remains a tightly-controlled piece of the delivery chain. - Since 1993 it is illegal for individuals to install satellite dishes and receivers into their private homes but at the time 11 million dishes were already in place – growing to 45 million in 2001. Clearly this law is not enforced thoroughly and in fact, the People’s Liberation Army manufactures and sells small dishes to private households. Informal barriers for foreign firms are often vague and include: - Guanxi forms the social framework of relationships in China and without the right connections, especially to the Government, business can be problematic. Foreigners lack ‘tong’, or commonality, a main prerequisite for positive Guanxi and, hence will not get the same level of access or privileges as local players. - A mandate that domestic show hosts use standard Mandarin as the only language (instead of Cantonese or Taiwanese dialects, slang words and accents that used to be ‘cool’). This makes entry for HK or Taiwanese based content providers extremely difficult. Also mixing-in unnecessary foreign language” is forbidden. - Government incentives to produce content that is beneficial to the youth. - Censorship with ambiguous rules such as no reports detrimental to the minds and health of youth”, no false reports”, or no reports on negative impact of WTO entry”. - Strict censorship of pornographic content, with very strict interpretation including kissing as well as any bed or bathroom scenes. - No violent content, which is hard to define, especially given the domestic Martial Arts industry. - Strict censorship of politically sensitive topics such as Tibet, Taiwan, Falun Gong, etc. - For media products that ‘pose a competitive threat’ to Chinese products, import is limited to 20 films per year. Furthermore, there are some other requirements which are not entirely different from other markets: - TV presenters are not allowed to appear in advertisements. - Banning of advertisements for certain medical or nutritional products, superstitious services like fortunetelling or telephone-sex. - Advertising breaks are limited to 12 minutes per hour (18 minutes in primetime) and infomercials during the breaks of TV series cannot exceed 90 seconds. Moreover, there cannot be any TV shopping content on satellite TV between 6 pm and 12 am. Some of these measurements may sound strict but can readily be compared with similar regulations in Canada or European countries which also faced an influx of American media a few decades ago. In turn, EuroNews, as answer to CNN, and ARTE, a high-brow channel that intends to support the integrity” of European culture, education and shared values were launched. Moreover, national laws like in Canada or France protect local creative industries from foreign imports. And indeed, China’s media is not isolationistic as there are several signs of a new found openness: - The WTO entry in 2001 enables content producers to access the market more freely than before. - Subsequently, the opening up of certain audio-visual industries to foreign investment. - The ‘Special media Zone’ Guangdong Province is allowed to receive 30 new channels. Transmission will be encrypted and control will be centralized. The new channels are expected to show no sex, violence or news. - Less tight control of provincial channels enables more editorial freedom (see Chapter 3.4.).

• Media

• China

• Television

• Media Export

• Media Import

Torsten Hoffmann, Jahrgang 1975, hat diese Arbeit im Rahmen seines MBA Studiums an der Universität Oxford im Jahr 2010 verfasst. Er studierte dort im prestigeträchtigen ChristChurch College und hat den Abschluss 'mit Auszeichnung' erzielt. Herr Hoffmann ist seit 1998 in der Medienbranche tätig und vertritt als Managing Partner bei Global Media Consult mehrere dutzend internationale Medienunternehmen (vor allem TV Sender) bei ihrer internationalen Distribution. Dabei hat er ein umfangreiches globales Netzwerk von Kunden, Partnern, Agenten und Beratern aufgebaut. Seit 2010 ist der Autor auch aktiv im Bereich 3D Content und spricht zu diesem Thema regelmäßig auf Konferenzen.