Advantages and Disadvantages of the Broadcasting Industry

Advantages of the Broadcasting Industry

First: Policy support. The overall plan for triple play has asymmetrically opened up the rights for broadcasting operators to operate telecommunications and internet businesses, fully supporting the construction and integration of cable TV networks.

Second: A strong and professional content production team. They provide radio and television with rich content, with seriousness and originality occupying a mainstream position.

Third: Broadcasting media at all levels, especially central and provincial media, have accumulated enormous content resources over many years. After digital conversion, these content resources can be developed and utilized in multiple forms, becoming raw materials for various media.

Fourth: The coverage and penetration rate of the broadcasting network ranks first among all media, with the current national TV population coverage reaching 97.23%. It holds strong advantages in both distribution channels and user resources.

Disadvantages of the Broadcasting Industry

First: The corporate system of the broadcasting industry is not well-established, lacking a unified operating entity, which affects the development of the industry. Premier Wen said: "The institutional issue is a major obstacle affecting the development of strategic emerging industries. It is precisely at this point that some prominent problems in our institutional system are exposed, as various departments and industries often fail to form consensus and division of labor in national goals."

Second: With the introduction of multimedia, multi-service, and multi-functional applications such as the next-generation broadcasting network and triple play, the broadcasting industry, which has always been at a disadvantage in operations, must face the pressure brought by the powerful telecommunications sector.

Third: China's cable TV originated from closed-circuit television. Previously, the broadcasting industry implemented a "four-level broadcasting" policy, which roughly divided the cable TV network into provincial, prefectural, municipal, and county-level transmission networks. Such a network has increasingly exposed its constraining drawbacks. Driven by digital TV conversion and triple play, although provincial network integration has been basically completed, the enterprise scale remains small, market entities are fragmented, and effective cooperation cannot be formed. "The time is not yet ripe for establishing the China Broadcasting Network Corporation. The prerequisite is that the broadcasting sector must first unify the network environment, achieving 'one province, one network,' and properly resolving issues such as the integration of listed companies in the broadcasting system," said Zhang Yanxiang.

Fourth: Funding issues. The network upgrade and nationwide integration of cable TV require substantial capital. Although the state will provide significant support, how much funding will actually be allocated remains unknown.

In triple play, we need to achieve the following three points: First, correctly view our own advantages and disadvantages. We must recognize that advantages and disadvantages are relative and can transform under certain conditions. For example, the bandwidth advantage of the broadcasting network's coaxial cable will gradually diminish as the number of fiber-to-the-home connections by telecommunications increases; the program advantage of broadcasting will decrease as telecommunications enterprises solely invest in or invest in existing program production units; and the bidirectional disadvantage of the broadcasting network will also decline as the coverage of bidirectional transformation of the broadcasting network increases. Second, talent cultivation. The sustainable development of broadcasting originates from innovation, and innovation relies on talents with creative thinking. Therefore, we must vigorously cultivate talents with innovative thinking, continuously enhance the vitality of the broadcasting network, and constantly strengthen the innovation awareness of the broadcasting network. Third, standardized management. Enhance the systematic nature of the broadcasting network, the authority and effectiveness of management, and make unremitting efforts to promote the scientific and standardized management of the broadcasting network.

In summary, we need to formulate detailed development plans, deeply explore our own potential, leverage our advantages, and explore a sustainable development path that belongs to the broadcasting industry.