Society

Illegal broadcasting report doubted

By Li Xinzhu (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-03-22 07:53

SHANGHAI - Officials in the Anhui Provincial Administration of Radio, Film and Television admitted on Monday that a large number of unauthorized broadcasting stations have been able to make illegal profits but said the misdeeds are not as serious as reports allege.

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Guangzhou Daily reported on Monday that nearly 1,000 unauthorized broadcasting stations had been found to be operating in the central and northern parts of Anhui province. Most of them had earned huge profits by broadcasting, without permission and in defiance of Chinese laws, violent and pornographic programs to residents in rural areas.

Guangzhou Daily also quoted a netizen who claimed that each station could bring in from 500,000 yuan ($76,220) to 900,000 yuan in annual returns by investing less than 50,000 yuan in equipment.

According to the Regulations on Broadcasting and Television Administration issued by the government in 1997, private broadcasting or radio stations are not allowed in China.

Guangzhou Daily also mentioned that local officials had been lured by the prospect of making huge profits into taking stakes in the illegal stations. That, the newspaper reported, is one of the reasons why eradicating the illegal stations will be difficult.

Not all agree.

Xie Changlu, a researcher with the social management department of the Anhui Provincial Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said the number of unauthorized broadcasting stations mentioned in the report was inaccurate.

Even so, he refused to disclose the specific number, saying, "it is very hard to count" since broadcasting equipment that has been turned off cannot be detected.

Xie said many details in the report - especially the numbers - have not been confirmed by the administration department.

"We've been working on this issue for more than 10 years," he said.

"Those are not broadcasting stations, but unauthorized broadcasting points built out of simple equipment, including a computer or DVD player and a signal emitter," he said. "We won't deny the existence of such points, since finding and banning them is the biggest part of our regular work."

Xie said it is difficult to discover where the points are hidden.

"Some operators have even moved their equipment to boats to avoid being detected by us," he said.

Unauthorized broadcasting points mainly exist in rural areas or in the countryside, out of the reach of cable TV, according to an anonymous staff member in the Anhui Provincial Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Xie also denied that the profits of running an unauthorized broadcasting point could be as high as 800,000 yuan to 900,000 yuan, as the report said.

"It is not possible at all," he said, "Depending on their coverage, I would assume the profit wouldn't exceed 200,000 yuan a year."

Most of the programs distributed by unauthorized broadcasters consist of light entertainment and are aimed at attracting larger audiences, Xie said.

Zong Xulin, a 46-year-old resident in Nihe county of Anhui province, said he receives several of the channels.

"They usually broadcast dramas that aren't very well-known," said Zong, whose home is an area that does not get cable TV . "Those channels always contain lots of medicine advertisements."

"The ads either come from illegal medicine manufacturers who want to promote their sales or local villagers who would like to see their names on TV."