China's TV regulator the State Administration of Radio, Film,
and Television (SARFT) has required that all cable TV operators
provide at least six channels of analog programs for the public
when they digitize their services.
China is promoting digital cable TV in urban areas and 25
cities, including Qingdao, Hangzhou, Dalian, Shenzhen, Taiyuan,
Nanjing, and Nanning, have switched from analog cable TV to digital
cable TV. Throughout the country digital cable TV subscribers have
surpassed 12 million, according to SARFT.
Recently, some cable TV users have complained that local cable
TV operators had closed all the analog cable TV and that the
charges for digital cable TV programs and the set-top box used to
receive the digital cable TV signals are too high.
In response to the complaints, the SARFT decided that all cable
TV operators must have at least six analog channels available for
users to choose, and the charges for digital TV must be cut for
low-income families.
China plans to replace the existing analog cable television with
digital cable television in all the cities in its eastern and
central regions and most of those in the western area by 2010,
according to?a national?five-year (2006-10) guideline on
cultural development publicized on September 13, 2006.
(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2007)