In recent years, under the impact of the Chinese Communist Party’s tight financial situation and factors such as the internet, the viewership on Chinese television has plummeted drastically, leading to many state-owned television stations struggling to cope. Recently, Shanghai Radio and Television Station announced the closure of multiple channels, with a significant reduction of 40% in the frequency of traditional channels, sparking attention.
According to official media reports from the Chinese Communist Party Radio and Television Administration and China News Agency, at a recent conference of the Shanghai Radio and Television Station (Shanghai Media Group), the Party Secretary, Director, and Editor-in-Chief Fang Shizhong issued the “Reform Action Plan.”
Fang Shizhong interpreted the plan using five “key words,” one of which is “streamlining.” By making “refining and improving efficiency” the breakthrough point of the reform, they plan to orderly close down four television channels and four sets of radio frequencies, significantly reducing 40% of the traditional channel frequencies.
However, Shanghai Radio and Television Station has not yet disclosed the names or details of the TV channels that will be shut down.
Currently, Shanghai Radio and Television Station owns television channels (including paid channels) such as Dongfang Satellite TV and First Financial Channel.
Public records show that Shanghai Radio and Television Station is subordinate to the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, with its superior entity being the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party Shanghai Municipal Committee, headquartered in Jing’an District, Shanghai.
The closure of multiple channels by Shanghai Radio and Television Station has sparked attention and discussion online.
A netizen from Chongqing, using the username “Caibao Bao,” posted on Weibo, saying, “The Magic City will shut down four TV channels: ICS (foreign language channel), documentary and humanities channel, colorful drama channel, and Dongfang Movie and TV Channel. If they want to shut down, go ahead because I haven’t watched TV in over a dozen years.”
He added, “The television industry is quite funny; they think they are very powerful, creating various hassles for consumers, such as many remotes, many wires, set-top boxes, complex turn-on procedures, and complicated channel search settings. As a result, normal people no longer watch TV. This situation is not only with television but also with newspapers and magazines, as if they are out of business as well. I thought I had exclusive business; what else could you do? Didn’t expect social media platforms came along. They are all changing.”
Another netizen, “Panzhi Weitan,” said, “There are various newspapers and television stations all over the country, but newspapers have few readers now, and TV is basically just a decoration. This is commonly known, so why do we still support so many of them? Why allocate resources to them? The money wasted on them must be astronomical. In my opinion, a large portion can be cut off, and the saved money can be used for organizing free medical treatment for major diseases, isn’t that better? Alas!”
In recent years, many Chinese television stations have been unable to sustain themselves due to the impact of mobile internet penetration. According to official reports, many TV channels nationwide have already shut down and transitioned.
According to a report titled “2024 China Smart TV Interactive New Trends” by The Paper, in recent years, the TV viewership rate in China has experienced a sharp decline, dropping from 70% in 2016 to less than 30% in 2022.
An article by the Zhejiang Provincial Propaganda Department’s WeChat public account previously stated that although there are many broadcasting TV channels nationwide, the phenomenon of homogenized content broadcast is prevalent. Many “patriotic dramas” are repeatedly aired in the daytime and evening, and TV shopping programs with loud pitches dominate the prime time, with the elderly, who still watch TV, becoming the main audience. Many channels no longer have a market but are unwilling to shut down and transition, gradually turning into institutions that exist just to “sustain themselves.”
In September 2020, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council issued the “Opinions on Accelerating the Deep Integration Development of Media”; in November of the same year, the State Administration of Radio and Television released the “Opinions on Accelerating the Deep Integration Development of Broadcasting and Television Media,” emphasizing shutting down and transitioning the low user base channels; this year, the Chinese Communist authorities issued a document on promoting the deep integration development of municipal-level media, requiring local official media to streamline operations and prevent “overweight.”
According to an article by the Zhejiang Provincial Propaganda Department’s WeChat public account, currently, although many TV stations have incurred losses, and employees may not receive full performance bonuses, actively shutting down and transitioning television channels is not a common practice.
The article discusses why it is difficult to sustain but not willing to shut down and transition? The reasons behind this, besides some objective factors, primarily lie in two attitudes: on one hand, some television professionals have essentially “flatlined”; on the other hand, some leaders of units are unwilling to risk making reforms that might offend others, pretending not to see the issue until passing the burden to the next administration.