The Channel | 2009 | Issue 2

55 / 56

On the market economy
[Ou] The government encourages broadcasters to put more
emphasis on the economic aspects of the TV industry. China’s
broadcasters are now covering their operating costs mainly by
advertising revenue, supplemented by some other income. The
reform is working well; TV and radio stations have been develop-
ing fast during the past 10 years. According to SARFT’s statistics,
the total revenue for Guangdong’s broadcasters was 2.8 bn
Yuan RMB in 1999, and increased to 9.47 bn Yuan RMB in 2006.
On the effect of ratings on programming
[Ou] High ratings attract advertisers, consequently the
programming and positioning strategy to achieve high ratings
is crucial. TVS' increase in market share is mainly due to the
precise positioning and market segmentation of its five
channels (Economy Channel, City Channel, Entertainment
Channel, Movie and Drama Channel and Children’s Channel),
and efficient configuration of resources. 2006 saw substantial
growth in their market share for all five channels: the movie
channel TVS-4 had the greatest net growth of 4.6 points while
the entertainment channel TVS-3 had the largest growth range,
from 0.8% in 2001 to 3.5% in 2006, an increase of 337.5%. TVS is
the channel with the fastest and biggest growth in both
audience ratings and advertising revenue, well placed to
compete with overseas TV stations.
Since its launch in 2001, TVS has restructured and re-defined
its strategy across all areas of its business. With limited resources,
TVS has created a host of localised popular programmes which
cater for the 'man in the street', and has thus found its
competitive edge. "Headlines Today" quickly rose to the most
viewed programme in Mandarin in Guangzhou, thus ending
the dominance of news reporting in Cantonese in Guangzhou
and triggering a reform of news reporting in Guangdong.
On broadcasting reforms
[Ou] Over the past years, the broadcasting reform in
Guangdong has accelerated by merging resources across the
province, and strengthening cooperation with partners from
both home and abroad. In compliance with SARFT's policy of
merger between terrestrial and cable stations and with its
approval, Guangdong Cable TV Station and Guangdong
Commercial TV Station merged into the current Southern
Television Guangdong (TVS) in 2001. The other provincial TV
operator, Guangdong Television (GDTV), focuses on current
affairs, finance and business information and targets the high-
end market in Guangdong Province, the rest of China and
overseas. With their complementary programming, TVS and
GDTV have both become major players. In 2004, Southern
Media Corporation (SMC) was established, 19 prefecture-level
TV stations joined the group. Now five companies are directly
affiliated to SMC: Radio Guangdong, Guangdong TV, TVS,
Cable Network Ltd. and Broadcasting and Transmitting Centre.
On co-productions with Germany
[Ou] TVS hopes to play the role of a cultural ambassador, to
facilitate cultural exchange between east and west. For our staff
it is a chance to understand a different culture. As the Chinese
saying goes, 'Seeing is believing'. Face-to-face contact is very
different from just gleaning the information through the media.
THE CHANNEL | ISSUE 2 2009 | 55