Cash on tap to spread cable control

Beijing has secured sufficient funds to take up to a third of the country's 90 million cable television subscribers, in a move to build a national fibre-optic backbone network linking up the cable-television systems with local operators.

China Cable Network, the company that will be used to consolidate cable-TV operators in China, has secured bank credit lines of up to 40 billion yuan (about HK$37.48 billion), which would allow it to buy a subscriber base of 30 million, vice-chairman Duan Yongji was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Industry watchdog, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, will form a state-level media holding company on Thursday to run the national television, radio, film and cable TV network units, instead of each being separately run by the state.

The new network eventually will merge with other cable-TV operators providing access to 90 million subscribers. This will give the regulator tighter control over the broadcasting industry.

Control of China's cable industry is split between provincial and municipal governments.