As Chinese at home enjoy their National Holiday, Chinese people living in the United States have been offered a window to life back home. A Chinese TV programming platform called the Great Wall TV Package has just made its American debut. They can choose from 17 Chinese mainland and Hong Kong channels.
Los Angeles is known around the world as the Mecca for film-makers, and movers and shakers in television to create, produce and promote their programming. LA was an obvious launching pad for the Chinese programming debut.
The satellite TV Package combines the strengths of China Central Television, local Chinese TV stations and Hong Kong and US-based TV stations. The new venture was made technically possible by DISH Network, owned by media heavyweight EchoStar, the fastest growing pay television provider, which reaches 10 million viewers in the US.
Zhang Changming, vice chairman of the board of CITVC, said, "It is a very important event. I think the Great Wall TV Package between CITVC and EchoStar will be a very successful cooperation."
Micheal Schwimmer, executive VP of EchoStar, said, "We are very proud to be part of this huge TV project. I believe the cooperation with our Chinese partners will be a great success."
The launch of the Great Wall TV Package has attracted a great deal of attention in the US.
US statistics show that about three million Chinese people live in the US, and the number has been increasing fast. These three million people comprise a mouth-watering market for every TV company. But the market is highly competitive and not easy to crack. The Great Wall Package will charge subscribers a $29.99 monthly fee -- a factor that may present a bit of a challenge for viewers on tight budgets. It will be a daunting task to convince potential subscribers to pay the fee, separate from the considerable basic direct satellite fees. But then again, the market pays for what it can't get anywhere else. And the Great Wall Package, like its over 2,000-year-old "Great Wall" namesake, is one of a kind.
(CCTV.com October 4, 2004)
