Interpretation: Radio and Television "One Network Integration" and 5G Business

On the afternoon of March 2, the State Administration of Radio and Television held a "telephone conference to implement the National Cable TV Network Integration and Development Implementation Plan" and officially released the important contents of the conference on the same day. From last night to this morning, it is estimated that various media and other industry-related groups have been closely following and discussing this news.

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The announcement of the General Administration was also quite unexpected. In the past, relevant important industry conferences would be released later, but this time it was released quite timely, and the key points of the conference were also more detailed in the information released. It involved the relevant work arrangements for the "national cable TV network integration" and "radio and television 5G construction" that the national cable TV industry and other related industries have long been looking forward to.

In fact, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television held a special meeting on the integration of the national cable TV network on October 18, 2019, at which it required relevant departments of the General Administration and China Radio and Television to promote various tasks such as "promoting the joint issuance of the "National Cable TV Network Integration Development Implementation Plan", the preparation of the national cable TV network integration and 5G construction integrated development work conference, the establishment of the "National One Network" joint-stock company, and the construction of 5G for radio and television". The video conference held this time seems to be just one of the phased meetings.

After repeatedly pondering the main content of the official news of the General Administration, the DVBCN author also makes some appropriate interpretations here. The overall content of the original news can be moved to the official account of the General Administration or the official website of DVBCN for reading; in addition, for any part involving the author's associations and purely personal opinions, if there are different interpretations, all viewers are welcome to leave reasonable comments.

1. Promote the integrated development of radio and television and 5G

In the official reports of the General Administration, similar words such as "promoting the integrated development of national cable TV network integration and radio and television 5G construction" were repeatedly emphasized. After all, these two tasks are the future strategic weapons that radio and television networks are currently claiming to be for a "turnaround."

In mid-2019, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued the "Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Radio, Television and Network Audiovisual Industries", stating that it is necessary to establish a unified operation system for cable TV networks across the country. In the No. 1 document "Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Radio and Television Public Service System" issued in 2020, it was also pointed out that in terms of how to promote the transformation and upgrading of public service bearer networks, it is necessary to "adhere to mobile priority and promote the integration of cable TV networks and the development of radio and television 5G in an integrated manner". There are many other related documents that involve this, so I will not list them one by one.

For the continued development of radio and television, achieving integration and 5G integration is the most ideal situation. Since the separation of stations and networks and regionalized operations, the disadvantages of radio and television networks are no longer needed to be described in detail in the current situation of network informatization and the full prosperity of digital economy. Although some provincial networks and even municipal companies have opened up a gap with the provincial networks in the later positions by relying on multi-dimensional operations, this is not enough to cope with the overall decline of radio and television networks in terms of users and revenue in the future. The general trend of the future is for radio and television networks to return to integrated unified operation and maintenance and generate a large platform with characteristics.

In terms of 5G construction of radio and television, since radio and television do not have the advantages of infrastructure network, market scale, user base, financial resources, etc., they will face a relatively large investment scale and uncertain income and expenditure returns if they directly start the construction and operation of basic communication services in the future. The market and user recognition are also unclear. However, without the burden of 2G, 3G, and 4G, it also provides a clear direction for radio and television to directly build 5G SA and start to C and B business lines.

In 2020, the 5G pilot work led by China Radio and Television was carried out, and the slow integration finally showed signs of improvement. The dynamic implementation of "integration" may also be expected this year.

2. Integration first, establishing a national joint-stock company

This meeting was a "telephone conference to implement the National Cable TV Network Integration and Development Implementation Plan", which means that the "implementation plan" has been tentatively approved, but the document release and official announcement have not yet been confirmed. According to the previous documents of the three departments, it is clear that the national cable TV network integration will be basically completed by the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan", and this time node has now arrived.

According to the explanation of China Radio and Television, and in accordance with the requirements of the Central Propaganda Department and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, it is responsible for formulating and revising the "National Cable TV Network Integration and Development Implementation Plan" and convening a national network integration symposium to solicit opinions. After the first working meeting of the National Cable TV Network Integration and Development Leading Group has reviewed and issued it, the Central Propaganda Department will organize relevant ministries and commissions and relevant departments and units of provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government) to hold a national cable TV network integration and development work conference to comprehensively deploy network integration and development work.

The official report mentioned that "realizing one network across the country is the foundation and the key, and must be regarded as the current top priority" and that we must "first complete the integration of the one network (individuals obey the whole, locals obey the overall situation, and concentrate all efforts to promote it)."

According to the previous documents of the General Administration, it is necessary to accelerate the integration of cable TV networks across the country, promote network companies at all levels to become important public service entities, and further give play to the public service potential and role of cable TV. It is also necessary to accelerate the construction of 5G networks for radio and television, enable the transformation and upgrading of public services, and promote the coordinated development of wired and wireless, broadcast communications, and large and small screens.

According to the established goals, the important landmark product of the integration work is to establish a "national cable TV network joint-stock company". According to the "Opinions on Accelerating the Integration and Development of National Cable TV Networks" jointly issued by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Finance, and the former State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television in 2016, China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. and provincial cable TV network companies can adopt various methods including capital increase, joint sponsorship, equity swap, absorption and merger, etc., and implement them in a classified manner to promote network integration in two steps:

The first step is for China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. to invest in provincial non-listed cable TV network companies to jointly promote network integration, interconnection platform construction and national business development. China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. will make timely contributions with provincial network company equity, national radio and television optical cable trunk network assets, cash, etc., and shareholders of provincial non-listed cable TV network companies will make a total equity contribution of no less than 51%, and jointly initiate the establishment of a national cable TV network joint-stock company; the second step is to promote the listing of the national cable TV network joint-stock company, and integrate it with the listed cable TV network companies through equity swaps, absorption mergers, etc.

According to the goal, in addition to cooperating with provincial network companies, this company should also include strategic investors. It will have the attributes of a joint-stock company with "one network across the country", and its operation and management will be carried out in accordance with the method of "unified construction, unified management, unified standards, and unified brand".

In recent years, the equity of some provincial network companies has been changing, involving local radio and television bureaus, cultural heritage committees, radio and television groups and other departments and units. The General Administration also hopes to guide, cultivate and strengthen key radio and television enterprises. In the future, it must "support listed companies to become stronger and bigger, and encourage listed companies to give full play to their respective advantages, actively and steadily carry out cross-regional, cross-industry, and cross-ownership mergers and acquisitions, and strive to build comprehensive industrial groups." At present, Shanghai Media Group, Hunan Radio and Television and others have accumulated certain experience in long-term practice. In the future, comprehensively accelerating the optimization and strengthening of radio and television cultural enterprises will also provide support for phased regional integration.

3. Leadership emerges. Why is there a leadership group for “One Network Integration”?

Another message was made clear at this meeting: "The Central Propaganda Department took the lead, and nine ministries jointly established the National Cable TV Network Integration and Development Leading Group, and set up an office in the State Administration of Radio and Television." In addition, it was also required that "all provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) should establish corresponding leading bodies as required." Some radio and television people may not be unfamiliar with the National One Network Integration Leading Group, but it has been around for some time.

DVBCN previously reported that this leading group was established on August 24, 2018, after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, with the approval of the central leadership. The leading group includes members from the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the State Administration of Taxation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and other related personnel from China Radio and Television.

The one that we haven’t seen before should be the National Development and Reform Commission, so these should be the representatives of the complete nine departments.

According to the deployment of the National Cable TV Network Integration and Development Leading Group, it is always emphasized to accelerate the realization of the national "one network" and promote the integration of the construction of the radio and television 5G network. Under the central leadership group, the leading groups of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) must refer to it to establish a structure, mainly to coordinate and promote the completion of the national and provincial (autonomous region and municipal) cable TV network integration and development, and guide the solution of the remaining problems in the integration and development of "one province, one network".

In addition, there should be a preparatory group to guide the establishment of a national cable television network joint-stock company. This should be carried out in the manner of corporate management, such as being responsible for formulating relevant corporate charters and other matters, so it will be composed of people from China Radio and Television and other parties.

During the meeting, Nie Chenxi pointed out that we must grasp the key points, overcome difficulties, and promote the integrated development of national cable TV network integration and radio and television 5G construction to make substantial progress as soon as possible. It seems that the comprehensive promotion of the substantive development of the two tasks will enter a new stage.

4. Broadcasting and television have undergone a major transformation to better meet the needs of the new era

With the continuous promotion of supply-side structural reform, the reform and development of the propaganda and cultural fields will continue to advance, and the radio and television network has been in the tide. The national cable TV network integration and radio and television 5G construction work led by China Radio and Television are exactly what radio and television need to turn to development. The new radio and television power in the future will play a more important role.

The "Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Radio, Television and Network Audiovisual Industries" points out that we should accelerate the digitalization, fiber opticization, broadband and IP-based transformation of cable TV networks, enhance the cable TV network's carrying capacity for broadband, interactive and ultra-high-definition services, expand new business forms such as comprehensive information services and intelligent applications, build new types of home information centers, realize the integration and interaction of large and small screens, let large-screen TV users fully enjoy the dividends of communications, meet users' viewing and information needs across screens, domains, networks and terminals, and realize radio and television access for everyone, mobile and terminal.

Radio and television should promote the coordinated development of wired, wireless and satellite networks, consolidate and expand the propaganda front, and build a three-network integrated business system, which is enabled by new technology empowerment, economic situation, cultural life, etc. Therefore, accelerating the construction of a new national information infrastructure network integrating smart radio and television, mobile communications, and the Internet of Everything, promoting the digitalization, high definition, networking, intelligence, and mobility of public services, and promoting the transformation from household access to everyone access, mobile access, and terminal access, is becoming an important direction for the future of radio and television.

DVBCN The author personally believes that the new national cable TV network architecture under the guidance of China Radio and Television will evolve towards the characteristics of "pipeline, authority, aggregation, and multifunctionality" in the future. Pipeline, cable TV network will still play the role of "mouthpiece", spreading the ideas and spirit of the party and the country, and it is also a channel for spreading spiritual and cultural products to meet the cultural needs of the people; authority, radio and television platforms are traditional media styles. From the prevention and control of the new coronavirus, it can be seen that television media and radio and television channels cannot be completely replaced by other media. It is still an authoritative media form for promoting ideology and culture; aggregation, radio and television continue to advocate the new direction of moving towards omnimedia, and cable TV network integration should also create an interconnected multi-aggregation platform; multifunctional, radio and television networks not only exercise the functions of operators and enterprises, but relatively speaking, it is still a communication channel, so safe broadcast control is still its important mission.

In fact, the above can be extended to more scope and definition, so I will not explain them one by one here. In the future, radio and television will continue to be built into the core carrier network for the construction of a cyber power, digital economy, smart cities, and smart villages. Cable TV networks, as a part of it, face huge burdens in future related work. "We must grasp the key points, overcome difficulties, and promote the integrated development of national cable TV networks and radio and television 5G construction to make substantial progress as soon as possible." Substantial breakthroughs should be achieved before this can be achieved.

5. There is still a long way to go, and radio and television still need to be proven by actual results

During this meeting, the General Administration also arranged for responsible persons from the Guangdong and Guizhou Provincial Radio and Television Bureaus, as well as responsible persons from Zhejiang Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Internet Companies to speak at the branch venues. Why did they only select these as representatives?

Let's talk about the local bureaus of these two places first. Guangdong Province, as a major economic province, has always been a 4K ultra-high-definition pilot area approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and has made achievements in the process of taking the lead and promoting comprehensive development; Guizhou Province, as a key region in the southwest, is an area for implementing the "smart radio and television" pilot, and is currently actively achieving results.

Let's talk about the two provincial network companies. Zhejiang Province itself is also a region with a particularly mature digital economy industry. Under the operation and maintenance of Wasu, the radio and television network in Zhejiang Province has achieved the stage goal of integration. In the future, it will also play the important role of pioneering the 5G pilot of radio and television. In addition, Wasu is also a listed radio and television company and will assume the obligation to lead the regional resource integration; Inner Mongolia is a typical underdeveloped region, and its radio and television network company is a representative of non-listed companies, so it is also of great significance to speak as a representative.

This meeting is expected to be just one of the phased meetings for the two tasks. After all, there is still a lot of information that has not been fully connected. However, all relevant departments and units have been required to "detail the responsibility letter, timetable, and roadmap" in accordance with the "Implementation Plan". The specific details of the work have been arranged, so it can only be completed as a phased task. The subsequent integration time and benefit distribution still need to be carefully considered.

Review: Major Events in the History of China's Radio and Television

On January 13, 2010, the State Council's executive meeting decided to accelerate the promotion of "three-network integration"; the list of pilot projects in June 2010 was announced;

In August 2010, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television established a preparatory group for a national radio and television network company, with Deputy Director Zhang Haitao as the group leader, and the company was tentatively named "China Radio and Television Network Company"; on October 25, 2012, the State Council approved the plan for the establishment of the national network submitted by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and invested 4.5 billion yuan in the initial construction of the head office platform, and then gradually integrated the local radio and television assets after the listing; on May 28, 2014, China Radio and Television was officially established;

On May 31, 2016, China Radio and Television and other organizations held a launch and signing ceremony for the pilot project of the national cable television network interconnection platform. They signed a "Cooperation Framework Agreement" with CITIC Group on jointly investing in the construction of the "Mobile Multimedia Interactive Radio and Television Network Project", signed a "Strategic Cooperation Agreement on the Implementation of Broadband Rural and Small and Medium-sized Cities (Counties) Basic Network Construction" with the Agricultural Development Bank of China, signed strategic investment framework agreements with Inner Mongolia/Qinghai/Ningxia Radio and Television Network Companies, and signed radio and television network industry development investment agreements with 11 provincial radio and television network companies including Guizhou. Limited Company Investment Agreement; On November 25, 2016, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television jointly issued the "Opinions on Accelerating the Integration and Development of National Cable TV Networks"; On December 25, 2017, China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. and Xinjiang Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. held a strategic investment cooperation signing ceremony; On August 24, 2018, the Central Propaganda Department took the lead in establishing the National Cable TV Network Integration Development Leading Group; On March 21, 2019, the National Cable TV Network Integration Development Strategic Cooperation Signing Ceremony was held in Beijing, China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. signed strategic cooperation framework agreements with China CITIC Group Corporation and Alibaba Group respectively; on April 3, 2019, seven subsidiaries of China Radio and Television (China Radio and Television Cloud Media, China Radio and Television Terminal, China Radio and Television Media, China Radio and Television International, China Radio and Television Broadcasting, China Radio and Television Oriental, and China Vision Cloud Media) signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Xinjiang Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd.; on June 6, 2019, China Radio and Television Network Co., Ltd. and three basic communications operators obtained 5G commercial licenses issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; in December 2019, China Radio and Television obtained the 192 public number segment license. Mobile communication network number; In February 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued radio frequency use licenses to China Telecom, China Unicom and China Radio and Television respectively, agreeing that the three companies would jointly use the 3300-3400MHz frequency band nationwide for 5G indoor coverage; On February 22, 2020, China Radio and Television participated in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's video and telephone conference on accelerating the development of 5G and doing a good job in the resumption of work and production in the information and communication industry; On March 2, 2020, the State Administration of Radio and Television held a video and telephone conference to implement the "National Cable TV Network Integration and Development Implementation Plan", and China Radio and Television participated in the meeting.