Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    LOCAL cable operator Shenzhen Topway has collaborated with domestic web service company Oriental Times Media and domestic TV maker Hisense to offer three packages for Shenzheners in a bid to win back customers who have left cable for the Internet.

    Apart from basic local cable and domestic satellite TV channels, each of the three packages (priced from 1,899 to 3,599 yuan for two years or service) contains video games, education and animation TV programs, a smart set-top box, a gamepad and a 42-inch or 50-inch 4K-resolution Hisense TV set.

    China has high cable TV penetration in households but statistics show that the rate of TV programs arriving at TV sets in China last year was 64.3 percent, down 8.1 percent from 2010, according to a recent report by People Daily. Cable’s loss is Web TV’s gain. Digital media players, Xiaomi Box and LeTV Box, as well as online video sites, have splintered the audiences of cable TV.

    “Cable TV operators were backed by the government for years, but because of the rapid ascent of Web TV and online content providers, the growth for cable TV operators has stalled and is shrinking,” said Mai Shangbao, the general manager of Shenzhen Topway.

    “Since most Chinese Web TV watchers still have their cable service and we have more subscribers’ information than Web providers, we are trying to capture that advantage by offering the option of selling TV programs with high-resolution TV sets at discounted prices to counter online providers before more market share slips away,” said Mai.

    Shenzhen Topway, Oriental Times Media and Hisense did not tell the press how much they would invest in this campaign, only saying they plan to sell 50,000 packages this year.