State Administration of Press,Publication, Radio, Film,and Television (China) Communications Authority (Hong Kong) Government InformationBureau (Macau) Infocomm Media DevelopmentAuthority (Singapore) The television industry in China includes high-tech program production, transmission and coverage.
[citation needed] When the People's Republic was founded in 1949, the telecommunications systems and facilities in China were outdated and rudimentary, and many had been damaged or destroyed during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
By 1952 the principal telecommunications network centered on Beijing, and links to all large cities had finally been established, enabling the launch of television broadcasts.
Growth in telecommunications halted with the general economic collapse after the Great Leap Forward (1958–60) but revived in the 1960s: radio-television services were installed in major cities in these years.
Until the mid-to-late 1970s, TV broadcasts started in the late afternoon and ended at midnight, with special daytime programs during the summer and winter vacations for students.
As of 1979, a total of 40 stations were operational in the mainland and television advertising was introduced at the start of the year; the first commercial seen being one for Happy Cola, a local soft drink.
[3] The first Chinese color TV broadcasts was launched by TVB in Hong Kong in 1967 - the first in mainland East Asia - and by China Television in Taiwan in 1969.
Additionally, the various broadcasting training, talent-search, research, publishing, and manufacturing organizations were brought under the control of the Ministry of Radio and Television.
Typical television shows were entertainment, including feature films, sports, drama,[5] music, dance, and children's programming.
Since the late 1950s, people in Pearl River Delta began to receive channels from Hong Kong with coaxial cable (1957–1973) and Yagi–Uda antenna (1967 onwards).
Because Chinese viewers often gathered in large groups to watch publicly owned sets, authorities estimated that two-thirds of the nation had access to television.
Chinese viewers were particularly interested in watching international news, sports, and drama (see Culture of the People's Republic of China).
This, and many ensuing declarations from Murdoch, led critics to believe the businessman was striving to appease the Chinese government in order to have the ban lifted.
In 2000, the Chinese government put forward a goal of promoting media amalgamation by establishing trans-regional multi-media news groups.
In October 2014, actors and actresses who have used drugs, visited prostitutes, or broken the law are not allowed to appear on television, movies, or other forms of broadcast (radio and advertisement) in China.
[13] China Daily reported that the ban is meant to "keep the industry healthy" and "Celebrities who break the law should not be invited to appear in programs, and transmission of their words should be suspended."
It was also noted that "Recent cases involving stars using drugs or visiting prostitutes have harmed the image of the entertainment industry and set a bad example for young people."
[17] Blacked out content has included references to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre,[16] the Dalai Lama,[16] the death of Zhao Ziyang,[18] the 2008 Tibetan unrest,[16] the Chinese milk scandal of 2008,[19] negative developments about the Beijing Olympics,[20] and historical dramas, such as Story of Yanxi Palace during national events.
[21][22] During the Summer Olympics in Beijing all Chinese TV stations were ordered to delay live broadcasts by ten seconds, a policy that was designed to give censors time to react in case free-Tibet demonstrators or others staged political protests.
[25] During the 2022 COVID-19 protests in China, CCTV's coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup censored scenes of maskless fans in the stadium.
To realize the above goals, NDRC, MII and SARFT will be responsible for organizing special projects for implementing digital television services.
On New Year's Eve (31 December) 2020 at 04:00:00 CST (UTC+8), the digital terrestrial television of the People's Republic of China fully turned, shifted and switched to all full high definition for all nationwide (including Shanghai and Suzhou).
On 1 April 2021, the digital terrestrial television of the People's Republic of China fully turned, shifted and switched to all full high definition for all Shaanxi Province.
An extremely small number of compounds with many foreign residents (e.g. five star hotels in Beijing) will also carry selected channels from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the West.
The production of Hong Kong's soap drama, comedy series and variety shows have reached mass audiences throughout the Chinese-speaking world.