China’s main state broadcaster has raised a record 15.88 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) from selling prime-time advertising spots for next year, state media said on Monday.
Revenue from the closely-watched auction by China Central Television (CCTV) grew more than 11 per cent from a similar auction for this year, the Global Times newspaper reported.
Analysts described the results as encouraging amid a slowdown in China’s overall economy.
“We see this result solid and better than most feared, providing good sentiment on next year ad spend outlook,” investment bank J.P. Morgan said in a research note on Monday.
The results also highlighted the state broadcaster’s dominant position despite the growth of social media and the rise of local television stations that have captured viewers with more entertaining programming, analysts said.
“CCTV’s leading position in the sector will remain unchallenged in the next two to three years,” the Global Times quoted Zheng Xueqin of the independent China Brand Research Institute as saying.