The 15th China Content Broadcasting Network (CCBN) exhibition,
which concluded on Sunday in Beijing, was a big draw as new
technologies and applications such as digital broadcasting and
mobile TVs attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors.
But there's little for cable operators to cheer about. Many,
especially county-level operators, still rely on government
subsidies to stay afloat.
Zhang Haitao, deputy director of the State Administration of
Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), complained at the CCBN that
cable TV operators generate a much lower ARPU (average revenue per
user) compared to telecom service operators.
Mobile operators generate a monthly ARPU of 60-100 yuan while
the same for cable operators is usually less than 20 yuan.
This is why the SARFT has been aggressively pushing digital
broadcasting service to help operators increase the ARPU.
But digital TV can hardly be a success in China, at least not a
commercial success, in the near future given that the digitization
here is not a market-driven push.
As almost all cable operators are affiliated to the government,
the SARFT has been forcing operators to switch to digital
broadcasting. It has been promoting a model under which operators
distribute free set-top boxes to boost subscriptions.
That model has been a success in Qingdao, a small coastal city,
but has been resisted in bigger cities such as Beijing. The reason
is plain: free boxes could be a big spending for Beijing Gehua CATV
Network, the dominant cable TV provider in the city which is now a
listed firm.
As many users are against a dramatic rise in monthly
subscription fees and Gehua has established a monopoly, the Beijing
operator would hardly be willing to take risks in a rapid switch to
digital TV service since reaping returns on such an investment
could take a long time.
Gehua last year received government subsidies of 40 million yuan
for free set-top box distribution. But that's still not enough to
persuade it to aggressively promote digital TV services.
So far, there are few subscribers of Gehua's pilot digital TV
services and it seems the operator will hardly be able to provide
digital services to most Beijing residents during the Olympics next
year.
There is no competition between cable operators in China, with
usually only one operator in every city. Breaking this monopoly
would be the most effective solution to boost digital TV
subscription.
It's now impossible to deploy a second cable connection in
residential areas, but IPTV, which broadcasts TV programs via
Internet, could offer a good alternative.
If IPTV services, usually provided by telecom operators, catches
on, cable TV operators would be forced to digitize in order to woo
consumers. And, that too without subsidies or directives from
regulators.
(China Daily April 3, 2007)