The development of digital TV (DTV) is a central task for
China's radio, TV and film industry, and private investment is
welcome to take part in this process, a senior industry official
said yesterday.
"Digitization must bring a change in our mindset and we should
abandon concepts of the planned economy era. We should seek a model
both inside and outside the industry that benefits all," said Zhang
Haitao, vice minister of the State Administration of Radio, Film
and TV (SARFT).
He made the remark in a keynote address at the opening of the
China Cable Broadcasting Network exhibition in Beijing, the
industry's largest gathering, which runs until Wednesday.
While many industries have witnessed rapid change as a result of
reform and opening, the radio, film and TV industry has lagged
behind and is ill prepared in terms of its mindset, technology and
organizational ability.
The industry's resources are highly scattered with every
province or city owning their own broadcasting and transmission
networks.
However, digitization is now an urgent requirement, so the
industry must adopt a market-oriented attitude in its
promotion.
Zhang, perhaps China's most enthusiastic proponent of DTV, said
the SARFT is working on a series of policies to achieve
digitization.
The administration will adjust its policies to encourage the
consolidation of networks and foster several mega-enterprises.
The vice minister added that companies like China Cable Network
Co Ltd can play a key role in industrial consolidations.
In January, China Cable Network, which owns a
70,000-kilometre-long fiber backbone broadcasting network, was
founded and was believed to be a major vehicle in consolidating the
nation's broadcasting network resources.
In accordance with central government's guidelines on furthering
the development of the private sector, Zhang said the SARFT is also
drawing up regulations to allow private investment to enter areas
such as the distribution network.
He added that private companies may also get a green light to
invest in program-on-demand and information services, areas
currently only open to investment from the radio, film and TV
industry.
At the same time, the development of DTV will enter a new stage
with the focus shifting to large-scale deployment at provincial
level following the experience of city-level networks, according to
Zhang.
Guangdong,
Fujian, Shanxi, Hunan, Shaanxi and Jiangxi provinces, the Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Beijing and Shanghai municipalities
will all start to switch TV transmissions from analogue to digital
platforms this year, through which all cable TV subscribers will be
able to watch DTV programs.
The overall transmission model offers free set-top boxes to
subscribers and more TV, radio and information content to them to
attract them to digital programs.
Beijing, which has seen little progress in deploying DTV so far,
will cease analogue transmissions by the end of 2007.
The capital aims to transfer 500,000 families to DTV this
year.
As to the long-awaited standard for the terrestrial transmission
of DTV, Zhang said the standard working group is working hard on it
and the SARFT will draw up plans and regulations.
China once intended to use the European DVB standard, but later
decided to formulate its own.
An industry source, close to the standard working group, said
the Chinese DMB-T standard is certain to come out this year.
It will be an optimized version of the three proposals by
Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and the Academy
of Broadcasting Sciences under the SARFT.
However, Zhang said that even if the standard is completed, it
may take five years to build a mature and complete industrial chain
based on it.
(China Daily March 21, 2005)