The Rise of China’s Media Supermarket: An Appraisal of Cultural Imperialism’s Relevance to the Chinese TV Industry

Abstract

Meanwhile, foreign capital is restricted from investing in and operating news media, broadcasting networks, and other core communication venues. See Zhao 2008, p. 178 for details. Strategies used include: 1 acquiring landing rights in some provinces, but rebroadcasting from there to restricted areas with the help of local agents; 2 becoming joint venture content producers and packaging foreign content into “time-blocks” with the help of local production partners. The time-blocks are then sold to a particular channel from where they are further syndicated across a number of affiliated channels in various TV markets; and 3 leasing airtime, through a majority-owned advertising company, on a satellite channel in a certain province from where the block is syndicated across other provinces. Pietro Ventani is a Hong Kong-based consultant providing strategic solutions to transnational media investors in the Asian-Pacific region