A new entertainment channel by Star group, a subsidiary company exclusively funded by media giant News Corporation, has got permission from Chinese government to telecast in Guangdong, the first of its kind in China.

Agreement was signed December 19 between Star Group and China Central Television, China International TV Group and Guangdong Cable TV. According to the agreement, the Star Group will, through cable network, put out a round-the-clock entertainment channel including music and films in Guangdong area at the beginning of 2002, while for exchange, Fox, a sister company of Star, will telecast CCTV-9, an English channel, in the US. Before this, the Chinese channel of Phoenix, partially held by Star, had got permitted to telecast in Guangdong.

James Murdoch, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Star, said he was excited about the historic agreement, which marks a milestone of Star's development in China. With China's WTO entry the media industry as a whole will meet more opportunities. Long been conducting business in China, the News Corporation quite understand China's conditions and will respect China's reality, he says.

Dai Jieming, president of Star's China division, didn't breathe any content of the new channel, just said that it would be a "pioneer" by providing most creative programs. Deputy executive officer Liu Xiangcheng said China had never permitted a new channel before it was fully put out, and this signaled changes of Chinese government's administrative policies.

Before the signing ceremony, Ding Guangen, head of the Department of Publicity of the CPC Central Committee, met James Murdoch and his party. Ding said the agreement marked a good beginning of the cooperation between the two parties, which would be gradually expanded. Xu Guangchun, director of China' s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said that Chinese government paid great attention to the project, which marked a new phase in China's cooperation with News Corporation.

( December 21, 2001)