China has built a national platform network for online television program broadcasts, according to a statement released Thursday by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

The platform for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services is divided into two tiers, namely, the central level, which will provide programs catering to all audiences throughout the country, and the local level, which will provide more programs designed for audiences in specific regions, the statement said.

The platform has the capacity for 100 channels of standard-definition broadcasting services, 15 channels of high-definition services and 20,000 hours of video on demand (VOD) services.

According to the statement, the platform network has already joined with sub-networks of radio and television organizations in five pilot regions in Sichuan, Hubei, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shandong.

The building of the platform network is an important step for IPTV services to meet the demands amid the three-network integration, which is the integration of telecommunication networks, cable TV networks and the Internet, said Wang Wenbin, general manager of China Network Television (CNTV), builder of the platform.