Summary of Key Points
Gansu Satellite TV has ceased broadcasting in provinces such as Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Guangxi due to reduced financial support and increased operational pressures, which have made it unable to afford the fees required to broadcast its programs outside its home province. This incident highlights the less well-known industry practice of "satellite TV licensing fees" and the widespread operational difficulties faced by local broadcasting systems. These difficulties include broken licensing fee payment chains, scarce frequency resources, declining advertising revenue, and low employee salaries. Additionally, the trend of channel consolidation and elimination is becoming increasingly common in the industry.
1. Gansu Satellite TV Ceases Broadcasting: Not Because They Don’t Want You to Watch, but Because They Can’t Afford the Fees
Mr. Wang, who lives in Guangzhou, cannot find Gansu Satellite TV on his cable TV. It’s not because of a signal issue, but because Gansu TV simply cannot afford the licensing fees. Gansu TV has stated that the financial support for broadcasting outside the province has significantly decreased in recent years, and the station’s own earnings are not enough to cover the high costs. As a result, it has had to temporarily stop cooperating with these provincial cable networks. In short, for a satellite TV station to broadcast in another region, it must pay a licensing fee to the local cable company. This is not an isolated case; last year, five provincial-level satellite TVs were unavailable in Jilin. In the future, people working outside their home provinces may have to rely on video platforms to watch news from their hometowns.
2. What Are Licensing Fees Exactly?
For a satellite TV station to be broadcast on a local cable network, it must pay a licensing fee to the cable company. Here’s a breakdown:
- Definition: After the satellite signal is transmitted, it needs to be relayed to local cable networks through agreements with cable companies, and a licensing fee must be paid (negotiated annually).
- How High Are the Fees?: Hubei Satellite TV spends nearly 70 million yuan per year on nationwide broadcasting; Zhejiang Satellite TV budgets 880,000 yuan for broadcasting in Jiangxi. Smaller provinces may have lower fees, but nationwide coverage can cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan per year.
- Additional Costs: In addition to licensing fees, satellite TV stations also have to pay for satellite transmitters. For example, the closure of Star TV was due to annual rental costs in the millions. In the past, advertising revenue covered these costs, but with fewer ads, stations can no longer afford them.
3. The Back-and-Forth Over Licensing Fees
The dispute over licensing fees between satellite TV stations and cable companies is nothing new. Both parties are calculating their own costs:
- For Satellite TV Stations: How much additional advertising revenue will broadcasting in a particular province generate? Will the revenue cover the licensing fees? If not, they may choose not to broadcast there (as was the case with the satellite TVs that ceased broadcasting in Jilin).
- For Cable Companies: Channels occupy limited frequency resources, which are also needed for broadband and 5G services. Cable companies need to weigh whether the attractiveness of a satellite TV station’s audience justifies the cost of licensing the channel.
- Example: Dalian didn’t have Hunan Satellite TV for many years because the licensing fees were not agreeable. It wasn’t until 2015 that Hunan Satellite TV was finally able to broadcast there.
4. The Difficulties Faced by Local Broadcasting Systems
The challenges faced by Gansu Satellite TV reflect the broader issues of local broadcasting systems:
- Lack of Funds: Declining advertising revenue has led to cuts in budget for variety shows (such as “All Accelerate”) and fewer corporate sponsorships. Some stations receive promises of future payments but never see the money.
- Low Salaries and Tight Resources: Basic contract workers earn around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per month. A host from Anhui Satellite TV joked about earning only 3,000 yuan per month during a live broadcast. Some stations use extreme working conditions (high temperatures) as part of the hiring process, offering salaries only slightly higher than those of interns (100 yuan per day).
- Scarcity of Resources: There are not enough frequency resources. Gansu TV was unable to broadcast four of its channels in high definition; IPTV services lack high-definition options due to limited platform resources, and local stations must wait for telecom expansions. Technological upgrades (such as switching from high definition to 4K) require significant investment, which many stations cannot afford.
5. The Trend of Channel Cancellation
The National Radio and Television Administration has been promoting channel consolidation since 2023, and to date, 144 television channels have been discontinued. These channels often attract few viewers and have no future prospects. Many people have never even heard of them. Nowadays, most prefecture-level cities only retain one main channel, and Gansu TV has also removed its standard-definition channels, switching to high definition broadcasting. The question of whether provincial TV stations need nationwide coverage is becoming more relevant—after all, new media platforms like video platforms can already meet viewers’ needs for local news.
Conclusion
The issue of satellite TV licensing fees is essentially a reflection of the “midlife crisis” facing the traditional broadcasting industry. The once-self-sufficient model, supported by advertising and licensing fees, has been disrupted by a decline in viewers and advertising revenue. Local stations must either rely on financial support or transition to new media, but this transition is limited by their public service responsibilities and makes it difficult to generate substantial revenue. In the future, we may see more satellite TV stations disappearing from local cable networks and “reborn” on short-video platforms.