SARFT: DTV Subscribers Exceed 62 Mln
Sohu IT, 2/11/10
According to figures from the Chinese State Administration of Radio Film and Television's (SARFT) New Media Industry Development Research Institute, one-third of China's cable television networks (not including Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan) have been restructured as of Q4 2009, and there is a total of more than 62.85 mln cable DTV subscribers nationwide. This number, taken as a fraction of China's total (analog + digital) 173.98 mln cable subscribers (as of the end of 2009), indicates that China's transition to digital cable is 36.12% complete.
Most of the ten areas in which provincial networks have been restructured are in China's eastern coastal areas, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Tianjin, Hebei, and Jilin. There are 14 provincial and municipal cities currently at work on network restructuring; efforts in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Guizhou are near completion. Guangdong and Heilongjiang provinces have only just begun restructuring.
The figures indicate that the majority of the 7 areas that have yet to begin restructuring are in China's less-developed heartland and western regions, such as Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan. Fujian, on China's east coast, and Xinjiang, far in China's west, will kick off their restructuring plans this year.
Editor's Note: An industry source revealed that SARFT has called for all provinces that have not yet completed provincial network restructuring to complete restructuring this year. China's total (analog + digital) cable subscribers as of the end of 2008 was 163 mln households.
Keywords: penetration analog television DTV SARFT users cable TV national statistics
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