SARFT blocks News Corp., calls timeout on foreigners

摘要

The decision by TV regulator the State Administration for Radio, Film and TV to block STAR's attempts to launch a new cable channel with local partner Qinghai Satellite TV is not a SARFT "door slam" on foreign investors but a temporary halt on further foreign involvement in the broadcast sector, according to a Beijing industry source. STAR had planned to launch a 50/50 joint-venture channel with QSTV that would have carried STAR-produced Chinese-language programming to about 100 million cable homes across the country and enabled the News Corp.-backed broadcaster to generate massive advertising revenues.