Declining Popularity
...he main viewers are China's legions of government and party officials, particularly in the provinces, and businessmen who want to keep up with the policies and attitudes that will affect their ability to make money.
— Edward Cody, Washington Post, citing Zhou Xiaopu of Renmin University,
All CCTV programmes are under commercial pressure, but Xinwen Lianbo is less-affected than most. It has few competitors, though Hong Kong's Phoenix Television and Shanghai's Dragon TV It is also one of CCTV's major earners. While there are no commercials during the show, the slots immediately afterwards have sold for US$100,000 each, and the five-second slot just before 7 pm has been the most expensive CCTV offered, worth 24 million RMB in 2003 (about 7% of CCTV's annual advertising revenue).
The China Daily reported that interest in the programme has declined, only receiving 10% of the audience share market compared to 40% before 1998. This was due in part to reporting of official government announcements, which have attracted little interest. After June 20, 2009, Xinwen Lianbo has focused more on critical reporting and human-interest stories.
Read more about this topic: Xinwen Lianbo
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