China Central Television (CCTV) will launch six digital cable channels on August 9, according to a recent report from the China News Service. The monthly fee for the service will be 58 yuan (US$7).

Fengyun Olympics 1 and Fengyun Olympics 2, produced by the Fengyun Communication Company, will mainly focus on the upcoming Athens Olympic Games, said Wang Yan, the company's general manager.

First Theater and Fengyun Theater will show a variety of TV series, from historical martial arts dramas to love stories.

The World Geography channel will feature classic documentaries and newsreels from the World War II era.

Fengyun Music channel will rebroadcast concerts of popular singers.

Wang said the cable channels will enjoy more freedom than general access stations. For example, authorities have banned foreign crime dramas from the general stations, but pay stations are allowed to broadcast them. Adult programming, however, will not be available.

"It is impossible to open an adult channel full of sex and violence under the conditions in our country," Wang said.

Shanghai, Guizhou, Chongqing and Sichuan will be the first locations to receive the six channels. Another 33 cities are making technical preparations to connect with the network.

Four more digital channels are scheduled for launch at the end of August.

CCTV first broadcast in 1958 under the name Beijing Television. Its name was changed in 1978. The organization is a subministry of the central government within the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Market economy reforms of the broadcasting industry since the 1990s have led CCTV to increase its proportion of popular commercial programming, as it must now compete with local television stations for viewers and advertising revenue.

CCTV currently has thirteen different channels of programming content and foreign programming that is broadcast via satellite.

(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn August 3, 2004)