Pay-TV seen favourably in China
Study shows 70pc of mainlanders would take up the service for $18 a month
Seven out of ten people in China would be willing to subscribe to pay-television services if the monthly charge was less than 20 yuan (HK$18.74), a new study shows.
The report - conducted by mainland research house CVSC-Sofres Media (CSM) - said 73.8 per cent of interviewees were willing to pay for subscription-based TV services if charges per user were less than 20 yuan a month.
Only 15.2 per cent said they would consider 30 yuan a month.
The State-backed CSM study interviewed top decision makers at 200 TV broadcasters and Internet companies in 30 mainland cities.
Growing concerns about pay-TV services have been expressed in China after China Central Television (CCTV) said it would test the market by launching four or five channels next month, in a move to explore new revenue.
Analysts said CCTV was determined to introduce pay-TV services to reduce the reliance on advertisements and limit the power of advertisers over programming.
Shanghai launched pay-TV services last September but the subscription base remains at only 5,000, largely because a pay-TV set-up box could cost about 1,000 yuan and the programming is not attractive.
The CRM study said users preferred content along the lines of traditional arts, such as Chinese opera, information, education and knowledge-based programming.
'[Of] the channels to be launched within these five years, half of them will be entertainment-oriented,' the report said. 'Focus will also be put on programming about home and life.
'Although the percentage of users willing to pay for the service is low, among those who agree to pay, they are willing to be charged at a high cost,' CSM said.
