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The closure of TV channels is a policy of radio and television reform or a sign of recession?

Text | Sanchuanhui Culture & Technology, Author | Wang Jingwen (author of Sanchuanhui Culture and Technology, researcher of Sanchuanhui Culture and Technology Research Institute), editor | Time, ed time

On October 15, 2020, the State Administration of Radio and Television issued the "Opinions on Promoting Radio and Television Broadcasting Institutions to Become Stronger and Better in the New Era", which opened the prelude to the "streamlining and refinement" of radio and television. Behind the "streamlining and leaning" is a structural adjustment of the radio and television industry under the pressure of digital transformation and new media competition. While eliminating backward production capacity, radio and television is also stepping up the layout of artificial intelligence, 5G, digital assets and other scientific and technological fields. "Radio and television + technology" has become a new development trend of radio and television.

Shenzhen TV, a public channel and entertainment channel founded in the 90s of the 20th century, announced that it would stop broadcasting on August 10, 2024, which sparked heated discussions. Last year, Tianjin Radio and Television Station shut down six television channels in one go, Guizhou Radio and Television Station shut down urban radio and photography channels, and Dalian Radio and Television Station stopped broadcasting comprehensive film and television channels and children's channels...... Radio and television began to gather together to "shut down and transfer".

In fact, in June 2018, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has proposed in the "2018 Key Points of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television Work" that it is necessary to effectively solve the problem of homogenization and homogenization of programs, and implement withdrawal management for channel frequencies that are seriously illegal and unqualified. On October 15, 2020, the State Administration of Radio and Television issued the "Opinions on Promoting Radio and Television Broadcasting Institutions in the New Era to Become Stronger and Better", which proposed to promote the streamlining and refinement of frequency channels, strengthen the management of professional channels, and resolutely implement exit management. This is the first time that the mainland has proposed "streamlining and streamlining management" at the policy level. After the "Opinions", the provincial radio and television bureaus have put forward their own opinions on the development of media integration, and they have also mentioned that they should promote the "integration of resources, structural optimization, streamlining and refinement" of frequency channels. So far, the work of "streamlining and refining" the frequency of TV channels has been carried out in an orderly manner from top to bottom.

According to reports from the radio and television industry, as of March 2024, a total of 144 TV channels and 52 radio frequencies have been cancelled across the country. On September 25, 2024, Shanghai Radio and Television held a reform and development conference and mentioned that it is necessary to shut down four TV channels and four sets of broadcasting frequencies in an orderly manner, and vigorously reduce the frequency of traditional channels by 40%. It can be seen that channel frequency shutdowns are happening and will continue to do so in the future.

First, the "streamlining and refinement" reform to eliminate backward production capacity

Why is there such a scale of "shutdown and turn"? Through the analysis of public information, this paper believes that there are three reasons:

1. Advertising revenue cannot cover expenditure, and there are financial difficulties in channel operation

According to data from CMS Media Research, the average daily viewing time of TV viewers nationwide decreased from 152 minutes to 115 minutes in 2023 from 2016 to 2023, a decrease of 37 minutes in seven years. This shows that there is a massive loss of TV audiences. The result of the massive loss of TV audiences is a decrease in channel advertising revenue.

According to the data of the National Radio and Television Industry Statistical Bulletin of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television from 2016 to 2023, the national traditional radio and television advertising revenue in 2016 was 115.07 billion yuan, and by 2023, the national traditional radio and television advertising revenue has shrunk to 58.366 billion yuan, a decrease of 53.5% compared with 2016.

In fact, the country's traditional radio and television advertising revenue has been declining year by year since it peaked in 2015. The decline in advertising revenue has caused many channels to operate with a shortage of funds, and the cost of labor and hardware maintenance is stretched. From an economic point of view, shutting down unprofitable channel frequencies is an inevitable choice for radio and television.

The closure of TV channels is a policy of radio and television reform or a sign of recession?

2. New media is developing rapidly, and traditional radio and television need to be transformed

Although the advertising revenue of traditional radio and television is decreasing, the new media advertising revenue obtained by radio and television and online audio-visual institutions through the Internet is increasing. According to the data of the National Radio and Television Industry Statistical Bulletin of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television from 2016 to 2023, the new media advertising revenue obtained by national radio and television and online audiovisual institutions through the Internet in 2016 was 39.652 billion yuan, and 269.834 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 649% in 7 years, with an average annual growth rate of 33.3%.

Although the income does not represent all, it can represent that the market's demand for information from new media channels has begun to increase, the communication power of new media is rising, and new media has increasingly become the main battlefield of public opinion.

The closure of TV channels is a policy of radio and television reform or a sign of recession?

3. The allocation of internal resources does not meet market demand, and the overall growth of radio and television is weak

According to the above, traditional advertising revenue is declining, and traditional radio and television business is declining. However, radio and television has allocated a lot of manpower, equipment, capital and other resources to the traditional radio and television business. As a result, a large amount of resources within radio and television are allocated to backward production capacity. However, the internal resources of radio and television are limited, and only by transferring the resources of the traditional radio and television business to the advanced productive forces can it be possible to use limited resources to make the cake bigger and achieve the overall growth of radio and television. Therefore, shutting down channels to "streamline and streamline" is a choice for the rational allocation of internal resources of radio and television, and a specific measure for structural reform.

To sum up, "streamlining and streamlining" is a structural adjustment of the radio and television industry under the pressure of digital transformation and new media competition, and its purpose is to release limited resources to develop high-quality content and platforms and achieve high-quality development of radio and television.

2. "Radio and television + science and technology" to build a new quality of productivity

It has been observed that since the release of the "Opinions on Promoting Radio and Television Broadcasting Institutions in the New Era" in 2020, the reform of various radio and television broadcasters has invariably concentrated resources in the field of science and technology, expecting "radio and television + technology" to promote the construction of new quality productivity of radio and television and boost a new round of high-quality development of the radio and television industry.

At present, there are three main practices of "radio and television + technology":

1. Enter artificial intelligence and cultivate new media productivity

With the development of general artificial intelligence, radio and television has also set off a wave of development of artificial intelligence. On July 20, 2023, China Central Radio and Television released the "CCTV Listening Media Model", which focuses on audiovisual media content production, can understand video content and generate text, and even directly generate videos from text, which can improve the efficiency of content production; On September 25, 2024, Shanghai Radio and Television held a reform and development conference, which mentioned the use of AI to reshape the foundation of media technology; On September 26, 2024, Jilin Radio and Television Station also released its own artificial intelligence laboratory, hoping to build the first AIGC digital editorial department in Northeast China.

The closure of TV channels is a policy of radio and television reform or a sign of recession?

2. Expand 5G+ to achieve high-quality content supply and media integration

With the popularization of 5G network, radio and television has also ushered in a new round of reform of audio and picture quality upgrading, and the video industry represented by 5G + 4K/8K and 5G + AR/VR technology has entered a period of development. For example, China Central Radio and Television emphasized at the 2024 "Brand Power Project" release event on October 12, 2023 that the main station should rely on the strategic layout of "5G+4K/8K+AI" to help media integration with scientific and technological innovation. In terms of practical application, the main station completed the main broadcasting agency service of the Asian Games for the first time in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, provided international public signals and related media services to the world for the first time with 4K/8K standards, and applied AR virtual technology for the first time in the opening and closing ceremonies. On September 25, 2024, at the Shanghai Radio and Television Reform and Development Conference, it was emphasized that it would take the lead in building Dragon TV's 4K ultra-high-definition integrated channel, and adhere to the "multi-screen linkage and integration of Taiwan and network".

The closure of TV channels is a policy of radio and television reform or a sign of recession?

3. Relying on local characteristics, precipitate digital assets

In the digital age, the digital assets that radio and television can own include, but are not limited to, program content, audio, video, images, copywriting, etc., which have potential economic value and can be distributed and commercialized through digital channels. Based on this, Henan Radio and Television's "Elephant Yuan AI Digital Asset Creation and Application Platform" builds a national style digital asset platform through the construction of open 3D models and relies on Henan's cultural resources, and compiles the "3D Modeling Eeasten Standard Virtual Reality (VR) Digital Media Asset Data Description Specification", which fills the gap in domestic standards for multi-dimensional digital assets. The "Elephant Yuan AI Digital Asset Creation and Application Platform" was selected as a typical case of national radio and television media integration in 2024.

The closure of TV channels is a policy of radio and television reform or a sign of recession?

3. "Radio and television + technology" also needs management support in the future

The integration of radio and television and technology, from the perspective of supply, can achieve efficient and high-quality content supply, and improve the speed and quality of information dissemination; From the demand side, it can achieve more effective interaction with the audience, gain faster and accurate insight into the audience's needs, and then improve the audience's sense of experience. "Radio and television + technology" can better meet market demand, enhance the communication power of radio and television, and achieve the high-quality development of radio and television.

In the process of vigorously promoting "radio and television + technology", from the perspective of strategic management and operation management, the following two points need to be noted:

1. "Radio and television + technology" is only a means, and the completion of an all-media communication system is the fundamental goal

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television pointed out in the "Opinions on Accelerating the Deep Integration and Development of Radio and Television Media" issued on November 13, 2020 that the fundamental goal of the development of radio and television media is to establish an all-media communication system for radio and television. Advanced technology is the means to achieve the goal. According to public reports, some radio and television stations have shouted very loud slogans and put forward advanced concepts in the integration of science and technology, but they have not seen what kind of strength these scientific and technological projects have contributed to the construction of the all-media communication system.

There are two possibilities for this phenomenon: first, these radio and television broadcasts are not willing to lag behind in the process of reform, and they are hard to stick to scientific and technological elements, and they are scientific and technological for the sake of political achievements; The second is that these radio and television stations have developed unsuitable scientific and technological projects in unsuitable areas, such as the lack of human resources in some radio and television regions, but they still enter the labor-intensive field of artificial intelligence research and development. Therefore, the development of "radio and television + science and technology" should firmly grasp the main contradiction of building an all-media communication system, and grasp the speed and mode of development according to local conditions. At present, building an all-media communication system is the greatest political achievement, and "radio and television + technology" is an important means, but it is not the ultimate goal.

2. Enhance the awareness of digital asset management

With the advancement of "radio and television + technology", the digital assets of radio and television play an increasingly important role in program production, copyright trading, advertising and marketing, etc., and the application scenarios of radio and television digital assets will be more extensive, such as 4K/8K ultra-high-definition video live broadcast, VR and AR content production, intelligent content recommendation, etc. Digital assets will be an important asset of radio and television in the digital era.

However, at present, there are still problems in the management of digital assets, such as weak awareness, unclear ownership of digital assets, and low operation and management efficiency. Due to the lack of awareness of digital asset management, radio and television will face the risk of loss of digital assets, which will threaten the development security of "radio and television + technology", and make the development of "radio and television + technology" lack the evaluation of asset value, thus becoming an empty shelf. Therefore, radio and television needs to establish an effective digital asset management system to ensure that the rights of digital assets are clear, stored safely, and used in compliance, so as to provide basic support for the take-off of "radio and television + technology".

epilogue

If the "streamlining and refinement" of radio and television is regarded as the end of an era, "radio and television + technology" is the arrival of another era. You can't get to a new place by following the old path. At present, it is urgent to build an all-media communication system, strengthen scientific and technological elements, eliminate backward production capacity, and promote the systematic reform of radio and television!

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