Shanghai channel serves up a new menu of programs to cater for local expat tastes, reports Xu Wei.

 

Shanghai television has many reasons to celebrate the New Year but foremost is the debut of International Channel Shanghai (ICS), the fresh bloodline of the Shanghai Media Group family.

 

As Shanghai's first foreign-language TV channel, ICS will cater to 4.4 million families in Shanghai through the cable network IPTV and also SMGBB. It will telecast 19 hours per day, 7.5 of which will be original programing.

 

According to Sun Wei, director of the channel, it has taken about four months to prepare for the launch with the result that ICS now has more than 10 veteran TV anchors as well as eight foreign language specialists lined up to host its shows.

 

"We hope to provide useful and instant information and service to foreign expats," Sun says.

 

"Our channel will be a human, fashionable and open platform for them to share their living experience in the city."

 

Statistics show that the number of expatriates living in Shanghai has reached 150,000. In addition to these foreign viewers, ICS's target audience also include students and highly educated Chinese people.

 

Its programming reflects the characteristics of Shanghai as a dynamic, cosmopolitan center with its cutting-edge lifestyle, fashion and trends.

 

All programs covering lifestyle, culture, travel, sport and business in China will be telecast by ICS in English or Japanese with Chinese subtitles.

 

The channel will be based on eight content formats: news, information, fashion, entertainment, family, sport, talk shows and foreign TV shows and movies.

 

The looming 2010 Shanghai World Expo is an important target for the channel and ICS will promote the major event for the next three years.

 

Well-known presenter Yuan Ming will host "Expo Connection," a weekly program that will spread Expo news to keep local and foreign citizens updated with preparations for the big event.

 

Other news and fashion programs will also focus on Expo topics - from their respective angles. Vicente Loscertales, secretary general of the International Bureau of Expositions, will be the first interview subject on "The Main Talk."

 

As for the Beijing Olympic Games, ICS will present a weekly sports show "Road to Beijing" leading into this gala sporting event.

 

The half-hour show will focus on the latest Olympics-related news including human-interest stories, sport star training and progress of preparations and venue construction.

 

Sun revealed that socialites, politicians and economists will often appear on ICS's programs to talk about various worldwide events.

 

"Crossing Over," hosted by celebrity writer Hong Huang, will offer insight into the latest hot news events that affect people's lives.

 

"Culture Matters," hosted by Yang Shengyu, will cover the bright lights of Eastern and Western culture through clips from TV shows, movies and situation comedies.

 

"News At Ten" and "Shanghai Noon," which debuted in 1986 as the first English language news programs in China's TV history, will feature on ICS, delivering worldwide news to local audiences on politics, economics, culture and sports.

 

Another feature of ICS will be fashion and lifestyle shows, including "City Beat," "Mr X," a male fashion show, and "A Tale of 3 Cities" which will focus on Shanghai and two other major fashion centers to present the hottest trends and business stories behind the glitzy surface.

 

At 8pm, entertainment show "The Reel Talk" will offer film commentary and "More Than Jazz" will be the first music program about jazz. Every night the channel will present international movies and TV shows.

 

In addition to English programs, ICS has scheduled a weekly two-hour Japanese program, the well-known "Bridge to Japan," to be followed by a Japanese TV drama.

 

"Music Story" will bring the latest album and singles in Japan.

 

Sun said ICS will often partner with the city's leading media outlets, such as Shanghai Daily, through cross-promotion and content collaboration.

 

Audience can log on to the channel's official Website www.icshanghai.com for detailed screening schedules and interactive Internet workshops.

 

(Shanghai Daily by Xu Wei January 1, 2008)