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SCMP Reporter

Market is ripe for broadcaster to challenge competitors

The central government is using Guangzhou as a testing ground to see how state-owned television broadcasters can compete in the crowded but lucrative market.

The city's state-owned TV operator, Guangzhou Television, has two options - either to remain an official mouthpiece or become market-oriented and compete with private and foreign-backed broadcasters.

A source at Guangzhou TV said Guangzhou was chosen for the experiment because there was no other city in the country that had such a high exposure to both mainland and foreign cultures and TV programming.

'It is our own choice whether to be state-controlled or market-driven,' the source said. 'Commercialisation can quickly bring in revenue for us but we can also survive by remaining as a mouthpiece.'

Whichever road the broadcaster takes, it faces huge changes.

Remaining a government mouthpiece could lead to retrenchments, with up to half of the broadcaster's 1,200-strong workforce standing to lose their jobs as authorities trim expenditure.

But turning commercial would also involve a major structural reorganisation.

The source said both the government and Guangzhou TV preferred the broadcaster to become more commercial and profit-focused. Guangzhou TV has a viewership of 30 million, mainly in Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta. It has an average rating of 12 per cent, compared with Television Broadcasts' 30 per cent and Asia Television's 10 per cent.

But Guangzhou TV programming director Wang Jianzhong claims the biggest threat comes from News Corp's Xingkong Weishi.

'[Xingkong Weishi] uses local people. It has local programming. But it also hosts game and variety shows using western concepts. It attracts many university students and young viewers,' Mr Wang said.

Xingkong Weishi, along with Chinese Entertainment Television, Phoenix Satellite Television and Viacom's MTV, are the only four overseas broadcasters that have landing rights in Guangdong.

Foreign media giants are eager to make a dent in the world's biggest television market, where spending on advertising last year alone was an estimated US$10 billion.

'News Corp is copying its success in India in the China market,' Mr Wang said. 'Everything is so localised that you have no idea that it's a foreign company when you watch the channel.'

Guangzhou TV hopes diversified programming could attract a greater audience and advertisers.



State-owned Guangzhou TV chosen for commercial experiment