CHINESE TV PROGRAMS
Watching TV in China is a very popular pastime. Chinese people let the TV often on. There are TVs in the buses, and in some taxis and public places. TV is everywhere.
The TV stations can be divided into national state TV, local TV stations and smaller cable channels.
The national state TV broadcaster in China is China Central Television (CCTV). It runs a variety of channels. CCTV1 is general entertainment, as is CCTV 3. The channel to promote China to the Chinese speaking world is CCTV4, sports is on CCTV5, movies are on CCTV 6 (all foreign movies are dubbed into Mandarin), TV series on CCTV 8 and CCTV 13 (CCTV新闻) is for news.
Chinese state TV runs a strange mixture of dry news and political programmes and entertainment shows. Every channel in China carries a lot of advertising, and there is nothing similar to a public service broadcaster like the BBC or PBS. One good point for Chinese learners is that almost everything on Chinese TV has full subtitles, so you can read along and use it as a listening aid.
Each province and major cities also have local TV stations, often many, but if you are outside the local area, you can only get one channel from each local broadcaster, the so-called ‘satellite’ channel.
A number of local TV stations have really popular entertainment shows, that often overtake central state TV in terms of viewing figures. This has been embarrassing for the state broadcaster, and it has modified its programming to compete.
Let’s have a look at some of the most popular shows in China, to get an idea:
The TV stations can be divided into national state TV, local TV stations and smaller cable channels.
The national state TV broadcaster in China is China Central Television (CCTV). It runs a variety of channels. CCTV1 is general entertainment, as is CCTV 3. The channel to promote China to the Chinese speaking world is CCTV4, sports is on CCTV5, movies are on CCTV 6 (all foreign movies are dubbed into Mandarin), TV series on CCTV 8 and CCTV 13 (CCTV新闻) is for news.
Chinese state TV runs a strange mixture of dry news and political programmes and entertainment shows. Every channel in China carries a lot of advertising, and there is nothing similar to a public service broadcaster like the BBC or PBS. One good point for Chinese learners is that almost everything on Chinese TV has full subtitles, so you can read along and use it as a listening aid.
Each province and major cities also have local TV stations, often many, but if you are outside the local area, you can only get one channel from each local broadcaster, the so-called ‘satellite’ channel.
A number of local TV stations have really popular entertainment shows, that often overtake central state TV in terms of viewing figures. This has been embarrassing for the state broadcaster, and it has modified its programming to compete.
Let’s have a look at some of the most popular shows in China, to get an idea:
THE VOICE
中国好声音 (the Voice of China) – It is a reality talent show, more precisely a singing competition, in which the judges have their back turned to the contestant and turn around if they want to become his/her mentor. I'M A SINGER 我是歌手 (I am a Singer) – A show where popular singers who want to revive their careers perform different types of songs and a selected audience vote for their favorites. CHINA'S GOT TALENT 中国达人秀 (China’s Got Talent) – It probably doesn’t need so many explanations . It's a very popular talent show broadcast in almost all countries. The standard on the Chinese show is quite high. The grand prize for the winner is $1 million. FEI CHENG WU RAO 非诚勿扰 (Fei Cheng Wu Rao) – It's a Chinese dating show in which a male contestant present facts about himself to a panel of 24 female contestants. Based on the facts he reveals, the female contestants have the choice of switching their light off - signaling that they are no longer interested in the male contestant. If the light remains turned on till the end, the two contestants have an opportunity to go on a date XIN WEN LIAN BO 新闻联播 (Xin Wen Lian Bo) – A national news programme on CCTV 1 every day at 7pm. It is the most watched news program in China. When it is on, all the local satellite stations and major radio stations have to suspend their own programming and carry this news broadcast. It mainly focuses on political content like party announcements, government meetings and leaders’ activities. |