China moves to unify cable firms into one network

China showcased its determination on Wednesday to consolidate its hundreds of cable television networks by establishing a national network company.

China Broadcasting Network Ltd, a newly launched firm with a registered capital of 4.5 billion yuan ($728.48 million), will build a unified cable network in China. It is also expected to become the nation's fourth-largest network operator, following China Mobile Ltd, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd.

There are many cable television networks in China, all run by different operators at various administrative levels. Though the Chinese government has vowed to cut the number of cable networks since 2010, analysts said the actual number of cable television carriers may be in the "hundreds".