List of China Media Group channels explained

Broadcast since 1 May 1958 as China Central Television (CCTV), CMG has a total of 49 television channels as of February 2021, consisting of 26 free channels, 17 pay channels and 6 foreign channels,[1] making CMG the world's largest number of TV channels operated by a single television network. All CMG channels are broadcasting around the world through satellite, cable and on Internet television. Those channels are listed below in sequence of launch day.

Television channels

Free public channels

All channels below are using Mandarin Chinese, with some news-related programmes showing sign language on the bottom-left or bottom-right.

NameFormatLaunch dateSloganFormer nameNote
CCTV-1 GeneralSD

PAL 576i 16:9 (extruded)HD

1080iUHD

2160p

2 September 1958 (SD)28 September 2009 (HD)-Beijing TelevisionCCTV General and NewsThe first TV channel of People's Republic of China, renamed to China Central Television on 1 May 1978, defined as CCTV-1 during launching of CCTV-2, and renamed to CCTV General when launch of CCTV-13
CCTV-2 Finance1 May 1973 (SD)1 January 2014 (HD) (lit. Finance channel, look for values)China color television test channelCCTV Economical, Life and ServiceThe first color TV channel of People's Republic of China, at the earlier test launch era, the programmes are related to education, later General television for economical, renamed to CCTV Economical, Life and Service on 3 July 2000, renamed to CCTV Economical on 20 May 2003, and renamed to CCTV Finance on 24 August 2009
CCTV-3 Variety1 January 1986 (SD)28 September 2012 (HD) (Arts open the mirths, arts start lighting)CCTV Opera and MusicRenamed to CCTV Literature and Art on 30 November 1995, renamed to CCTV Opera and Music on 15 January 1996 and renamed to CCTV Variety on 18 December 2000
CCTV-4 Chinese International1 October 1992 (SD)15 April 2015 (HD, Asian Edition)

5 February 2016 (HD, European Edition)

20 February 2017 (HD, American Edition)

-CCTV InternationalWas general television for culture, renamed to CCTV International on 1 November 1994, and renamed to CCTV Chinese International in 2006. Was having English and Cantonese programmes before 2006, channel signal splitted to 3 edition (Asian, European and American) in 2006, bilingual captions available since 2009 for dramas.
CCTV-5 Sports1 January 1995 (SD)28 September 2012 (HD)May temporarily rename to Olympic channel during Olympic Games, before launch of CCTV-16
CCTV-6 Movies1 January 1996 (SD)15 December 2012 (HD) (lit. Open TV set to watch movies)Owned by PDCCP, co-operate by China Film Group Corporation
CCTV-7 Defense and Military30 November 1995 (SD)1 January 2014 (HD)-CCTV Children, Military, Agriculture and ScienceCCTV Children, Military and Agriculture
CCTV-8 Television Drama1 January 1996 (SD)28 September 2012 (HD) (lit. Stay for you, wait for me)CCTV Literature and ArtRenamed to CCTV Television Drama on 3 May 1999
CCTV-9 Documentary1 January 2011 (SD)1 January 2014 (HD) (lit. Documentary, between heaven and ground)For the former CCTV-9 (International), see belowOn 31 December 2016, the CCTV Documentary International has re-packaged to be CGTN Documentary
CCTV-10 Science and Education9 July 2001 (SD)1 January 2014 (HD) (lit. Knowledge, is just the power)
CCTV-11 Opera9 July 2001 (SD)1 September 2018 (HD) (lit. The small stage for opera, the big smart for life)
CCTV-12 Society and Law12 May 2002 (SD)1 January 2014 (HD) (lit. Between square and circle, there are heaven and ground)CCTV WesternRenamed to Society and Law in 2004
CCTV-13 News1 May 2003 (SD)20 November 2019 (HD)-
CCTV-14 Children28 December 2003 (SD)1 January 2014 (HD)
CCTV-15 Music29 March 2004 (SD)1 September 2018 (HD)
CCTV-16 Olympics21 October 2021 (Every day Olympics)Co-operate by the office of IOC in Beijing, mostly air in HD and 4K UHD, SD edition only available in some local cable transmitters.
CCTV-17 Agriculture and Rural28 December 2003 (SD)1 January 2014 (HD) (lit. Rural revitalization, work together)
CCTV-5+ Sports PlusHD: 1080i1 January 2006-CCTV HD film visionCCTV-HDRenamed to CCTV-HD in 2008, and renamed to CCTV-5+ in August 2013
CCTV-4K4K UHD: 2160p1 October 2018
CCTV-8K8K UHD: 4320p24 January 2022Trial started on 1 February 2021
CCTV Home ShoppingHD: 1080i 16:928 December 2006 (SD)23 September 2019 (HD)

Foreign channels

See main article: China Global Television Network. Except two English channels, HD format signals aren't available within China.

NameLanguageFormatLaunch dateSloganFormer nameNote
CGTNEnglishSD: PAL 576i 16:9 (extruded)HD: 1080i20 September 1997 (SD)1 September 2016 (HD)See the differenceCCTV EnglishCCTV InternationalCCTV-NewsFormer CCTV-9 before 26 April 2010, renamed to CGTN on 31 December 2016
CGTN EspañolSpanish1 October 2004 (SD)11 April 2014 (HD)CCTV E&FCCTV Españolsplitted on 1 October 2007
CGTN FrançaisFrench (lit. Focus China)CCTV Français
CGTN العربيةArabic25 July 2009 (SD)18 April 2014 (HD)CCTV العربية
CGTN PусскийRussian10 September 2009 (SD)18 April 2014 (HD) (lit. See the difference!)CCTV Pусский
CGTN DocumentaryEnglish1 January 2011 (SD)7 January 2014 (HD)See the ChangesCCTV Documentary International

Pay channels

All channels below are using Mandarin Chinese. The previous 13 channels are owned by Central Digital Television Media Co., Ltd., their HD signals were launched on 23 September 2019, and their SD signals were shutted down in 2020. The last 3 channels are owned by CND Films.

NameFormatLaunch dateNote
CCTV-TV GuideHD: 1080i 16:91 November 2004De facto free for some local cable transmitters.
CCTV-Storm Football1 January 2004
CCTV-Women's Fashion
CCTV-Hygiene and HealthyWas co-operate by SMG.
CCTV-The First Theater9 August 2004HBO programmes available in golden times.
CCTV-Storm Theater
CCTV-Storm Music
CCTV-Nostalgia Theater1 November 2004
CCTV-Golf and Tennis1 January 2005
CCTV-Cultural Features
CCTV-World Geography14 March 2005
CCTV-Billiards6 May 2012
CCTV-Weapon Technology8 May 2006
CNDF-Old StoriesSD: 576i 4:38 August 2005
CNDF-Discovery1 January 2007
CNDF-Middle Students4 May 2009

Overseas channels

None of channels below are available for subscribers within Mainland China.

NameLanguageFormatLaunch dateNote
DaifuStandard Chinese and JapaneseSD: PAL 576i 16:9 (extruded)HD: 1080i27 May 1998 (SD)1 June 2014 (HD)Japanese edition of CCTV-4, available in Sky PerfecTV!
CCTV EntertainmentStandard ChineseSD: PAL 576i 16:91 October 2004Overseas edition of CCTV-3
CCTV Chinese OperaOverseas edition of CCTV-11
CCTV-1 Hong Kong & Macau EditionStandard Chinese and CantoneseSD: PAL 576i 16:9 (pure)HD: 1080i1 March 2011 (SD)29 May 2017 (HD)For both: Due to copyright and trademark concerns, all advertisements and some programmes of original CCTV-1 are censored, and replaced by local, mainly Cantonese-speaking, advertisements and other news programmes.Hong Kong Edition: Was transmitted by ATV before 1 April 2015, later de facto only available for some pay channel networks, such as now TV 541, until 23 May 2017 where RTHK took over the channel spectrum as RTHK33.Macau Edition: Transmitted by TDM, was using original CCTV-1 spectrum during 20 December 2016 through 29 May 2017.

Former channels

International broadcasts

It is possible to receive channels CCTV-4 (Mandarin channel targeting an overseas Chinese audience), CGTN (English channel targeting an Foreigner audience), CGTN Spanish (in Spanish) and CGTN French (in French) outside China by using a Digital Video Broadcast signal (plus additional broadcast support together with Dolby Stereo, Dolby Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital Advanced Sound Quality Definition and Improvement System Support, technologized and developed by Dolby Laboratories, Datasat, and the SDDS for digital audio system supportments). CCTV has just recently switched from analog to DVB primarily due to better signal quality and the ability to charge for reception (about US$10 per year subscription). The overseas channels are widely available across many cable and satellite providers.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 地级以上广播电视播出机构及频道频率名录(截至2019年11月). zh. National Radio and Television Administration. 2019-12-05. 2019-12-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20191205030002/http://www.nrta.gov.cn/art/2019/11/21/art_69_48816.html. live.