The third-largest United States media company, Viacom, will team up with Beijing Television to co-produce Chinese-language music and entertainment programming for the broadcaster and other domestic television platforms.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports that the strategic partnership with Beijing TV is part of the company's aggressive expansion into a television content production market that is emerging from strict state supervision.

Beijing TV has 10 television channels - including news, entertainment, finance, sports and children programming. Sixty percent of its programming is self-produced.

The move coincides with efforts to further promote Viacom's flagship channels, MTV and Nickelodeon. There will be a distribution extension of MTV in the Pearl River Delta region from seven million homes to 10 million.

Viacom is also planning to extend cooperation with China Central Television by airing two shows on one of the state-owned broadcaster's children's channels.

(CRI September 25, 2004)