The other edge of commercialisation: Enhancing CCTV's propaganda

Abstract

This article re-examines the political economics of current Chinese television through three case studies into the operation of China Central Television Station (CCTV). It precedes the case studies with a review of a number of perspectives of Chinese television regarding its relation to businesses and its function as a propaganda instrument. The first case study presents an example to demonstrate the nature of the relationship between CCTV and its business partners. The second case study shows that CCTV is becoming a huge official-profiteering monopoly. The third case study leads to the argument that counter-commercialisation enhances CCTV's ability to propagandise. On the basis of these case studies, I argue that commercialisation is not a one-way process and that it necessarily contains an equal and opposite reactive process that I identify as counter-commercialisation. I hope that the case studies will enhance knowledge about the complexity of Chinese television.