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UK pulls license of Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN

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UK pulls license of Chinese state-owned broadcaster CGTN

CGTN anchor Liu Xin attends an interview at the CCTV headquarters in Beijing on May 30, 2019.

 

London (CNN Business)UK regulators have pulled the broadcasting license for China Global Television Network, or CGTN.

Media regulator Ofcom said Thursday that it had withdrawn the Chinese state-owned channel's license after an investigation "concluded that the license is wrongfully held by Star China Media Limited."
Ofcom said that Star China Media Limited did not have "editorial responsibility" for the channel's output, and therefore "does not meet the legal requirement of having control over the licensed service." Star was acting as the distributor, rather than the provider of the news channel, it added.
The regulators also rejected a proposal by CGTN to transfer the license to a new entity after finding that it would ultimately still be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, and therefore disqualified under UK law.
 
"We've provided CGTN with numerous opportunities to come into compliance, but it has not done so. We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the license for CGTN to broadcast in the UK," an Ofcom spokesperson said.
The channel will be removed from UK airwaves with immediate effect. CGTN has the right to request a judicial review, according to an Ofcom spokesperson, and it could apply for another license in the future.
In the United Kingdom, all TV and radio broadcasters need a license from Ofcom to operate, and are subject to rules on impartiality, accuracy and protection of privacy.
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China's CGTN may no longer broadcast in Germany after UK row

The Chinese state-owned cable channel is losing its access to the German market after British regulators pulled its license.

    

Picture of a screen displaying the CGTN

The Chinese channel is facing trouble in Germany following a clampdown in the UK

The Chinese cable channel CGTN no longer has permission to be broadcast in Germany, a press spokesperson for the state media authority of North Rhine-Westphalia confirmed to DW on Friday.

"We are currently informing cable providers that Ofcom has revoked this channel's UK license and that the program can therefore not be broadcast in Germany anymore," they said, referring to the decision made by the UK broadcasting regulator on February 4. 

According to an agreement among several European countries, CGTN's license in Germany had been approved by Ofcom as part of a license sharing initiative.

With the Ofcom license revoked, CGTN has been left without permission to broadcast in Germany.

Vodafone Germany also reported on Friday that it had ended distribution of the channel over its cable network in Nordrhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, according to Reuters.

"We are currently in discussions regarding the withdrawal of the license both with regional media authorities and the broadcaster's representatives in order to clarify the legal situation," the company said.

What we know:

  • Ofcom revoked CGTN's license on February 4
  • This license gave the channel permission to broadcast in several European countries, including Germany
  • Vodafone Germany has already ended distribution for the channel
  • Other broadcast companies in Germany will also have to end distribution
  • If CGTN wants to broadcast in Germany, it will need to apply for a new license

Why did Ofcom revoke the broadcasting license?

The British Office of Communications (Ofcom) said that the media company holding CGTN's UK license, Star China Media Limited (SCML) had "no editorial control over its programs" as the UK law requires.

The regulator determined that the state-owned channel was "ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party" after carrying out an investigation into complaints about fairness and accuracy.

In response, Chinese regulators banned the UK's BBC World News service from broadcasting in China on Thursday, citing violations of the country's broadcasting rules.

What is the shared license agreement?

The "transfrontier television" agreement signed in 1989 states that a distribution license in one European country is valid across the continent.

The deal was signed under the Council of Europe, of which the UK is still a member — CGTN's licensing troubles have no connection to Brexit.

The agreement was signed by all EU member states as well as most of the Balkans and Ukraine. This means that CGTN may have to be switched off across the whole of Europe, although it is possible that being granted a license in one country could allow distribution to resume across the board.

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Komodo Commander
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Why doesn't BBC get their best journalist to go head to head with the CGTN? 

 

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@marneil

That's what the UN is for, Journalist have bosses to answer to. Media companies have policy to answer to. BBC do not want their audience watching other channels, that's how the business work. 

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@rambo

My head hurts reading your paragraphs.  

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@marneil

I use the mic on my phone sometimes, it does not pick up the verbs sometimes. 

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