China Awards First IPTV Licence to Shanghai Media Group

From informitv: China awards IPTV licence to Shanghai Media Group

"China has issued the first licence to operate an IPTV service to Shanghai Media Group. SMG is China’s second largest media group, after China Central Television."

"The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, SARFT, has licensed Shanghai station STV, an SMG subsidiary, to broadcast television, video on demand and acquired programming over an internet protocol broadband network. SMG has established a partnership with China Telecom to provide services."

"Until now, television stations and telecommunications companies were not allowed to provide converged services. Further licences are expected to be awarded by SARFT to operate IPTV services. With over 100 million internet users, a quarter of whom have broadband, but with significant growth potential, China is seen as a major market for IPTV."

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