Fuzhou to Offer Free Trials of Pay DTV Channels
Fuzhou Evening News, 7/09/08
Under an adjustment that took effect July 8, six Shanghai Media Group (SMG) programs that had previously been included in the basic cable package for Fuzhou (Fujian province) cable subscribers will be changed to paid programming, but will be provided free to subscribers, along with 9 other paid SMG channels, until December 31 of this year. TopV Digital TV Media's 13 paid channels will also be provided for free viewing. CCTV's 12 DTV channels will become available for free viewing in Fuzhou in mid-July, and will remain free until December 31, 2010.
Editor's Note: As China moves forward with a nationwide government-mandated conversion of cable TV networks from analog to digital, viewer complaints that the increase in monthly basic subscription fees - in many case double that of the previous analog fees - have not been matched with a commensurate improvement in program quality and variety have risen sharply. In response, a number of cable operators have begun introducing temporary fee reductions or waivers, hoping to mollify subscribers and increase exposure to their premium content offerings.
Keywords: TopV pricing analog cable TV CCTV DTV Fujian Fuzhou programming Shanghai Media Group television complaint premium programming aggregator