Due to increasing demands, it soon launched its second channel in 1963 and third channel in 1969, followed by the first simultaneous satellite broadcasts nationwide in 1972. In May of the same year, the construction of the "new building" in the courtyard of the headquarters was completed.
The media function of TV had extended further. BTV also set up a dozen fixed TV shows in order to cater to the vast audiences, the shows include news columns and entertainment shows. įrom 1 January 1960 BTV changed the fixed program schedule and started to broadcast eight times a week and added one program on Sunday morning. Later the number of official TV programs increased from twice a week to four times a week (on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday). On 2 September of that year, BTV broadcast officially for the first time. On the screens of the few dozen television receivers in Beijing that night, a picture of the headquarters building with the words "Beijing TV station" written on it appeared. Īt 19:00 on Beijing Television (the predecessor of China Central Television) began its test transmissions, and for the first time, the Chinese Communist Party's own TV signals were broadcast in Beijing. In December 1957, the central broadcasting bureau sent Luo Donghe and Meng Qiyu to the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic for the inspection of their TV stations, then the duo returned to Beijing to prepare for the establishment of the promised TV station. On 5 February 1955, the central broadcasting bureau reported to the State Council and proposed the program of establishing a medium-sized television station, later on premier Zhou Enlai included in China's first five-year plan the planned introduction of television broadcasts. In 1954, CCP chairman Mao Zedong put forward that China should establish its own TV station. It is a central player in the Chinese government's propaganda network. As a state television station it is responsible to both the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council. CCTV has a variety of functions, such as news communication, social education, culture, and entertainment information services. ĬCTV was established on to be a state-owned news and public opinion steering agency, acting as a mouthpiece of the CCP.
CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the CCP Propaganda Department. However, news reporting about topics which are sensitive to the CCP is distorted and often used as a weapon against the party's perceived enemies. Most of its programmes are a mixture of news, documentary, social education, comedy, entertainment, and drama, the majority of which consists of Chinese soap operas and entertainment. CCTV has a network of 50 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers in six different languages.