Phoenix Satellite Television has finally received approval from Beijing to send its signal into China through cable networks, making it the first foreign firm to gain legal broadcasting rights in the country.
Shares of Phoenix TV, which is 38.25 per cent owned by Star Group, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, climbed 15 per cent to 92 HK cents yesterday following the sanction given by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (Sarft), China's broadcasting regulatory body.
Phoenix TV's flagship Chinese channel is to be distributed through cable networks in the Pearl River Delta and Phoenix TV Movies channel is allowed restricted carriage in Guangdong province.
The official landing rights in southern China came four years after Phoenix TV's signal appeared on Guangdong Provincial Cable Television (GPCT), Guangdong's largest cable network.
However, Phoenix TV's presence in the rest of China is limited by uncertainty.
Whether its entry will pave the way for other foreign satellite television channels remains to be seen, analysts say.
According to Phoenix TV's listing prospectus, about 42 million households, or 13 per cent of total households with TV in the mainland have access to the Phoenix Chinese channel.
