China to build first national online TV station

China is currently building the first national online TV station which not only accepts programs from CCTV, provincial and municipal TV stations, but also welcomes original video works made by netizens.

Now, the cooperation between CCTV and the online TV station is under way, said Zhao Lifan, the general counsel of CCTV.com. For more than 220 million online TV users in China, it is no doubt good news.

The station aims to realize live web casting of all programs from CCTV's 20 channels, or rather, 750 hours of mass programs per day. Besides, it will endeavor to collect 400 thousand hours of programs made by CCTV over previous years, so as to establish an "online museum of moving image". Meanwhile, it will have the functions of program request, search, download and comment.

However, CCTV is not the only program source since the online TV station is an open platform. Zhao said it will become China's biggest web video database because it not only absorbs the programs from TV stations across the whole country and media organizations, but also encourages netizens to upload video works made by themselves.

In order to be recognized by a global audience, the online TV station will provide programs of 8 languages by 2012, including English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Arabic.

In addition, various terminals will be able to access the online TV station, such as computer, cell phone, IPTV, outdoor TV, digital TV, and mobile TV on transport like airplane and train.

By People's Daily Online