China Central Television#Channels

In 1954, CCP chairman Mao Zedong put forward that China should establish its own TV station. On 5 February 1955, the central broadcasting bureau reported to the State Council and proposed the program of establishing a medium-sized television station, later on premier Zhou Enlai included in China's first five-year plan the planned introduction of television broadcasts. In December 1957, the central broadcasting bureau sent Luo Donghe and Meng Qiyu to the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic for the inspection of their TV stations (see Television in the Soviet Union and Deutscher Fernsehfunk), then the duo returned to Beijing to prepare for the establishment of the TV station.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}} Said station officially signed on for the first time as Beijing Television on 1 May 1958.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Beijing Television was formally renamed China Central Television on 1 May 1978, and a new logo was unveiled, in time for its 20th anniversary.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cctv.com/english/20030805/101215.shtml|title=CCTV-English Channel|access-date=1 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209014836/http://www.cctv.com/english/20030805/101215.shtml|archive-date=9 December 2016|url-status=live}}

Until the late 1970s, CCTV held only evening broadcasts, usually closing down at midnight. During the summer and winter academic vacations, it occasionally transmitted daytime programming for students, while special daytime programs were aired during national holidays.

In 1980, CCTV experimented with news relays from local and central television studios via microwave.Miller, T. (2003). Television: Critical Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-25502-8}}. It also had its first international collaboration that year, production of the documentary series Silk Road with Japan's public broadcasting company, NHK.{{Cite book |last=Qian |first=Ying |title=Revolutionary Becomings: Documentary Media in Twentieth-Century China |date=2024 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231204477 |location=New York, NY}}{{Rp|page=234}} In 1984, CCTV established the wholly-owned subsidiary {{Interlanguage link|China International Television Corporation|qid=Q10873428}} (CITVC).{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Rebecca |date=2019-11-05 |title='China Nature' Series Set Up by BBC and CITVC |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/asia/china-nature-series-bbc-and-citvc-1203393240/ |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=24 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724223828/https://variety.com/2019/tv/asia/china-nature-series-bbc-and-citvc-1203393240/ |url-status=live }}

By 1985, CCTV had already become a leading television network in China. In 1987, CCTV grew due to the adaptation and presentation of Dream of the Red Chamber, the first Chinese television drama to enter the global market.{{Rp|page=33}} In the same year, CCTV exported 10,216 shows to 77 foreign television stations.{{Rp|page=33}}

Initially, the CCP's Central Publicity Department issued directive censorship of programs. During reform in the 1990s, it adopted new standards for CCTV, "affordability" and "acceptability", loosening the previous government control.{{Cite book |last=Kops |first=Manfred |title=Internationalization of the Chinese TV Sector |last2=Ollig |first2=Stefan |date=2007 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-8258-0753-5 |language=en}}{{Rp|page=34}} Affordability refers to purchasing ability of programs, while acceptability requires that a program has acceptable content, preventing the broadcast of material that contains inappropriate content or expresses views against the CCP.{{Rp|page=35}}

In March 2018, as the nation began marking the 60th year of television, CCTV ownership changed hands to a new state holding group, the China Media Group, as part of the deepening the reform of the Party and state institutions.

{{Further|China Global Television Network}}

In 1990, CCTV subsidiary, CITVC, established China Television Corporation in California to distribute CCTV content in the U.S.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=About Us |url=http://www.chinatvcorp.com/main/index.php/en/about |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828034417/http://www.chinatvcorp.com/main/index.php/en/about |archive-date=28 August 2022 |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=www.chinatvcorp.com |language=en}} In 2000, CCTV's all-English channel, known as CCTV-9 or CCTV International, was launched.

In 2001, the Great Foreign Publicity Plan was launched by Xu Guangchun, the head of SARFT, also the deputy head of the CCP's Central Publicity Department after the urgency of bringing the voice of China to the world was presented by Jiang Zemin, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}} The idea of an English channel was brought out in 1996. CCTV-4 had three half-hour English news broadcasting every day, but later, on 25 September 2000, CCTV-9 a satellite channel was set up to be the first 24-hour English channel, aimed to establish the overseas market. In October 2001, CCTV partnered with AOL Time Warner and other foreign news corporations, giving them access to the Chinese media market in exchange for cable delivery in the US and Europe, mainly delivering CCTV-9 programs.{{cite book |author=Ying Zhu |author-link=Ying Zhu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkgFB0J8YxwC |title=Two Billion Eyes: The Story of China Central Television |date=4 May 2010 |publisher=New Press |isbn=978-1-59558-802-9 |access-date=8 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224063320/https://books.google.com/books?id=qkgFB0J8YxwC |archive-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=live}}

The CCTV-4 channel split into three separate channels on 1 April 2007—each serving different time zones: China Standard Time (CST), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and Eastern Standard Time (EST)—in order to improve service for audiences around the world.[http://www.adweek.com/aw/google/article_brief/1003541507 CCTV: One Network, 1.2 Billion Viewers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126204339/http://www.adweek.com/aw/google/article_brief/1003541507|date=26 January 2018}} , Adweek, 5 February 2007.

On 25 July 2009, CCTV launched its Arabic-language international channel, stating that it aims to maintain stronger links with Arab nations.{{Cite news |date=2009-07-25 |title=China launches Arabic TV channel |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8166486.stm |access-date=2022-11-27 |archive-date=19 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819222441/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8166486.stm |url-status=live }}

In 2015 and 2018, CCTV signed cooperation agreements with Russian state media outlet RT.{{Cite news |last=Davidson |first=Helen |date=31 March 2022 |title=Close ties allow Russian propaganda to spread swiftly through China, report claims |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/31/close-ties-allow-russia-propaganda-to-spread-through-china |url-status=live |access-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408103418/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/31/close-ties-allow-russia-propaganda-to-spread-through-china |archive-date=8 April 2022}}{{Cite news |date=25 June 2015 |title=CCTV and Russian RT TV signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation |language=zh |work=China Central Television |url=http://news.cntv.cn/2015/06/25/ARTI1435230577721605.shtml |url-status=live |access-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220318230557/http://m.news.cntv.cn/2015/06/25/ARTI1435230577721605.shtml |archive-date=18 March 2022}}

In December 2016, CCTV's foreign language services were spun off into China Global Television Network (CGTN).{{Citation |last1=Hu |first1=Zhengrong |title=From the outside in: CCTV going global in a new world communication order |date=2017-11-27 |work=China's Media Go Global |pages=67–78 |editor-last=Thussu |editor-first=Daya Kishan |edition=1 |publisher=Routledge |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315619668-5 |isbn=978-1-315-61966-8 |last2=Ji |first2=Deqiang |last3=Gong |first3=Yukun |editor2-last=de Burgh |editor2-first=Hugo |editor3-last=Shi |editor3-first=Anbin}}

CCTV and Uzbekistan's National Television and Radio Corporation (UzTRK) cooperate to produce joint programs and documentaries.{{Cite book |last=Sun |first=Yi |title=China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment |publisher=Leiden University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9789087284411 |editor-last=Fang |editor-first=Qiang |chapter=Necessitated by Geopolitics: China's Economic and Cultural Initiatives in Central Asia |jstor=jj.15136086 |editor-last2=Li |editor-first2=Xiaobing}}{{Rp|page=159}}

File:Lassina Zerbo interviewed by China Central Television.jpg interviewed by China Central Television]]

{{main|China Network Television}}

China Network Television (CNTV) was an internet-based broadcaster of China Central Television which launched on 28 December 2009.{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Lisa |title=Convergent Chinese Television Industries: An Ethnography of Chinese Production Cultures |series=Palgrave Global Media Policy and Business |date=2022-06-15 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-91756-2 |pages=32 |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-91756-2 |s2cid=249726789 |oclc=1333705685}}

China Central Television, as a component of the China Media Group (CMG), falls under the supervision of the National Radio and Television Administration which is in turn subordinate to the CCP's Central Publicity Department. The organization is considered one of the "big three" state media outlets in China, along with the People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency.{{Cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Chin-Chuan |title=Power, Money, and Media: Communication Patterns and Bureaucratic Control in Cultural China |last2=Li |first2=Jinquan |date=2000 |publisher=Northwestern University Press |isbn=978-0-8101-1787-7 |language=en}}

The current president of CCTV is Shen Haixiong, who was appointed in February 2018, and also appointed as a deputy head of the CCP's Central Publicity Department.{{Cite news|url=http://news.southcn.com/china/content/2018-02/09/content_180763205.htm|title=国务院任免国家工作人员 慎海雄任国家新闻出版广电总局副局长兼央视台长|publisher=中国政府网|date=9 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209122209/http://news.southcn.com/china/content/2018-02/09/content_180763205.htm|archive-date=9 February 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news |date=2018-03-28 |title= |script-title=zh:中央广播电视总台台长慎海雄出任中宣部副部长 |url=http://news.ifeng.com/a/20180328/57122293_0.shtml |work=Phoenix Television |language=zh |access-date=30 September 2024 |archive-date=28 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128022340/https://news.ifeng.com/a/20180328/57122293_0.shtml |url-status=live }}

CCTV produces its own news broadcasts three times a day and is the country's most powerful and prolific television program producer. Its thirty-minute evening news, Xinwen Lianbo ("CCTV Network News" or "CCTV Tonight", {{lang-zh|s=新闻联播}}), goes on air daily at 7:00 pm Beijing time. All local stations are required to carry CCTV's news broadcast. An internal CCTV survey indicates that nearly 500 million people countrywide regularly watch this program.[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/the-chinese-media-more-autonomous-and-diverse-within-limits/copy_of_1.htm The Chinese Media: More Autonomous and Diverse—Within Limits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114233822/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/the-chinese-media-more-autonomous-and-diverse-within-limits/copy_of_1.htm |date=14 January 2009 }} , CIA.{{Update inline|date=August 2022}}

Focus Report (jiaodian fangtan), first introduced in 1994, was a popular CCTV show which regularly exposes the wrongdoings of local officials, which attracts serious attention from higher levels of government. It also exposed the Chinese government's response to charges of corruption.{{Cite book |last=Shirk |first=Susan L. |author-link=Susan L. Shirk |title=China: The Fragile Superpower |date=2007-05-31 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-530609-5 |language=en}} In 1998, Premier Zhu Rongji praised the program as an important tool of media supervision (yulun jiandu).{{Cite book |last=Yi |first=Guolin |title=China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment |publisher=Leiden University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9789087284411 |editor-last=Fang |editor-first=Qiang |chapter=From "Seven Speak-Nots" to "Media Surnamed Party": Media in China from 2012 to 2022 |jstor=jj.15136086 |editor-last2=Li |editor-first2=Xiaobing}}{{Rp|page=59}}

The CCTV New Year's Gala ({{lang-zh|s=中国中央电视台春节联欢晚会}})—a yearly special program for the Chinese New Year—is the most-watched CCTV show.{{Cite news |last=Coonan |first=Clifford |date=February 14, 2009 |title='Green Dragon' fires up Chinese hopes |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/green-dragon-fires-up-chinese-hopes-1.699784 |access-date=2023-06-18 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en |archive-date=1 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001012754/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/green-dragon-fires-up-chinese-hopes-1.699784 |url-status=live }}

In 2003, CCTV launched its first 24-hour news channel, initially available to cable viewers.Latham, K. Pop Culture China!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. ABC-CLIO, 2007. pp.60 {{ISBN|978-1-85109-582-7}}.

{{main|CCTV channels}}

{{update|section|date=December 2022|2008}}

{{As of|2007}}, China's television audience rose to 1.2 billion.[http://adage.com/results?start=30&endeca=1&return=endeca&D=11%2F05%2F2008&Nty=1&N=4294966457&Ns=P_Ranking%7C1 China's TV audience passes 1.2 billion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124113355/https://adage.com/results?start=30&endeca=1&return=endeca&D=11%2F05%2F2008&Nty=1&N=4294966457&Ns=P_Ranking%7C1|date=24 January 2020}} , Advertising Age, 9 January 2008. As content becomes more diversified, there have been concerns about the audience share, as CCTV is losing out to cable, satellite and regional networks.Li, J. & Lee, C. Chinese Media, Global Contexts: Global Contexts. Routledge, 2003. pp. 168. {{ISBN|978-0-415-30334-7}}. In Guangzhou for example, CCTV programming only accounts for 45% of the weekly audience share,Yuan, Elaine J. (University of Illinois at Chicago). [http://indigo.uic.edu/bitstream/handle/10027/10473/CJoC_GZFrag%26Pol.pdf?sequence=1 "Diversity of exposure in television viewing: audience fragmentation and polarization in Guangzhou"] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602231537/http://indigo.uic.edu/bitstream/handle/10027/10473/CJoC_GZFrag%26Pol.pdf?sequence=1|date=2 June 2015}}). Chinese Journal of Communication 1:1, 91 – 108. 2008. [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17544750701861954#.VW328EaZqVA Available at] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819222439/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17544750701861954#.VW328EaZqVA|date=19 August 2020}}) Taylor & Francis, [http://indigo.uic.edu/handle/10027/10473 Available at] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602233134/http://indigo.uic.edu/handle/10027/10473|date=2 June 2015}}) University of Illinois, Chicago INDIGO. while in Shanghai, local stations also have share over CCTV.Wang, J. Brand New China: Advertising, Media, and Commercial Culture. Harvard University Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-674-02680-3}}. However, the CCTV New Year's Gala remains extremely popular; it acquires more than 90% audience share over the nation.

{{Update section|date=April 2023}}

Producing a variety of different programming, China Central Television has a number of different program hosts, news anchors, correspondents, and contributors who appear throughout daily programing on the network.{{Cite news|url=http://cctv.cntv.cn/zhuchiren/|title=China Central Television|access-date=1 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915045658/http://cctv.cntv.cn/zhuchiren/|archive-date=15 September 2016|url-status=live}}

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

• Ai Hua
• Bai Yansong
• Bao Xiaofeng
• Daniela Anahí Bessia
• Bi Fujian
• Chai Jing
• Chai Lu
• Chen Yin
• Dashan
• Dong Hao
• Dong Qing
• Marc Edwards
• Gao Bo
• Gang Qiang
• Guo Zhijian
• Hai Xia
• He Jing
• Jing Yidan
• Ju Ping
• Vimbayi Kajese
• Kang Hui
• Michele Lean
• Li Ruiying
• Li Sisi
• Li Xiaomeng
• Li Yong
• Li Zimeng
• Liu Chunyan
• Lu Jian
• Edwin Maher
• Ouyang Xiadan
• Negmat Rahman
• Ren Luyu
• Rui Chenggang
• Sa Beining
• Wang Ning
• Wang Xiaoya
• Wang Zhi'an
• Zhang Hongmin
• Zhang Mengmeng
• Zhang Tengyue
• Zhou Tao
• Zhu Jun
• Zhu Xun

{{div col end}}

The network's principal directors and other officers are appointed by the State, and so are the top officials at local conventional television stations in mainland China; nearly all of them are restricted to broadcasting within their own province or municipality. Editorial independence is subject to government policy considerations, and as a result, its history and news channels have been charged with being "propaganda aimed at brainwashing the audience" in a letter written by a number of Chinese intellectuals who also called for a boycott of state media was posted on a US-based website and has circulated through Chinese websites.{{Cite news |date=2009-01-12 |title=China TV faces propaganda charge |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7824255.stm |access-date=2022-11-27 |archive-date=19 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819222440/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7824255.stm |url-status=live }}[http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_325896.html 'Boycott state media' call] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205203549/http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_325896.html|date=5 February 2010}} , The Straits Times, 14 January 2009. The network often publishes misleading and false information, particularly as it pertains to issues considered sensitive by the Chinese government. However, only a small percentage of the Network's programming can be described as "abusive or demonizing propaganda."{{Cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Sarah |title=China Central Television: A Long-standing Weapon in Beijing's Arsenal of Repression |website=The Diplomat |publisher= |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/09/china-central-television-a-long-standing-weapon-in-beijings-arsenal-of-repression/ |url-status=live |access-date=30 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005165924/https://thediplomat.com/2019/09/china-central-television-a-long-standing-weapon-in-beijings-arsenal-of-repression/ |archive-date=5 October 2019}}

Journalists working for the network's English-language international channel, CGTN, as well as of the other non-Chinese language TV channels under the CGTN banner, are under constant pressure to present a positive account of China, according to Anne-Marie Brady's study published in 2008. "In August 2005, a series of items reported factually on the coal mining disaster in China; soon after the channel's leaders received a warning from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that its reports were harming China's international image. Following this incident, senior editorial staff and journalists were all forced to write self-criticisms."

Brady says that while the channel's equipment is state-of-the-art, the employees are not well trained in how to use it, so there are frequent errors during a broadcast. "The political controls on the station contribute to a generally low level of morale and initiative among station staff," she writes.

A study done by the observer of Chinese film and television, Ying Zhu, suggests that "CCTV is full of serious-minded creators who regularly experience bouts of self-doubt, philosophical ambivalence, and in some cases, clinical depression." During her extensive interviews with key CCTV players, Zhu notes that "Certain common themes, about ideals, distorted or altogether thwarted by commercial and political pressure, emerged."{{Cite news |last=Zhu |first=Ying |authorlink=Ying Zhu |date=5 June 2012 |title=The Inside Story of When China's State-Run TV Criticized the Party |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/the-inside-story-of-when-chinas-state-run-tv-criticized-the-party/258102 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018015901/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/the-inside-story-of-when-chinas-state-run-tv-criticized-the-party/258102/ |archivedate=18 October 2017 |accessdate=27 October 2021 |work=The Atlantic}} , accessed June 2012

According to Freedom House, CCTV "has a consistent record of blatantly and egregiously violating journalistic standards and encouraging or justifying hatred and violence against innocent people. CCTV is an essential component of the CCP's brutal authoritarian regime and should be treated as such."

In 2020, the United States Department of State designated CCTV as a foreign mission, which requires it to disclose more about its operations in the U.S.{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |date=2020-06-22 |title=U.S. Designates Four More Chinese News Organizations as Foreign Missions |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/us/politics/us-china-news-organizations.html |url-status=live |access-date=2020-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622221012/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/us/politics/us-china-news-organizations.html |archive-date=22 June 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|last1=Ruwitch|first1=John|last2=Kelemen|first2=Michele|date=22 June 2020|title=Trump Administration Labels 4 More Chinese News Outlets 'Foreign Missions'|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/22/881755421/trump-administration-labels-4-more-chinese-news-outlets-foreign-missions|url-status=live|access-date=22 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622211319/https://www.npr.org/2020/06/22/881755421/trump-administration-labels-4-more-chinese-news-outlets-foreign-missions|archive-date=22 June 2020}}

Since its inception CCTV has served as a tool of state power and as such has been complicit in human rights abuses. They have a history of demonizing and inciting hatred against those perceived as foes by the CCP, in this way they can be used to mobilize against threats as diverse as Falun Gong and international human rights groups.

In 1999, during the first crackdown on Falun Gong, CCTV's Focus Talk ran 28 episodes over a 32-day period which defamed practitioners and incited hatred against them. In 2001, they deceptively claimed that a group of people who had set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square were Falun Gong adherents, a claim which was characterized as "clearly abusive" by the Canadian regulatory commission.

On 23 January 2011, Xinwen Lianbo showcased the Chengdu J-10 firing a missile at a plane, causing it to explode. The footage lasted half a second and the destroyed plane shown was later identified as that of an F-5E, a US fighter jet. The clip was later revealed to have been taken from the 1986 US movie Top Gun.{{cite news |date=28 January 2011 |title=CCTV Tries to Pass Off 'Top Gun' Clip as Real? |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/video/cctv-tries-to-pass-off-top-gun-clip-as-real/43EC0FC2-A440-4522-8E81-437EC747D30A.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914010743/http://www.wsj.com/video/cctv-tries-to-pass-off-top-gun-clip-as-real/43EC0FC2-A440-4522-8E81-437EC747D30A.html |archive-date=14 September 2014}}

In 2011, the new CCTV head Hu Zhanfan "was found to have proclaimed in July [or January, both before the CCTV appointment in November] that journalists' foremost responsibility is to 'be a good mouthpiece{{'"}}Osnos, Evan, [http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/12/the-pentagon-papers-the-press-and-beijing.html#entry-more "The Pentagon Papers, the Press, and Beijing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109062809/http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2011/12/the-pentagon-papers-the-press-and-beijing.html#entry-more |date=9 January 2012 }} , The New Yorker blog, December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011. Internet posts of the comment blossomed after the appointment, one "juxtapos[ing] CCTV's ... Xinwen Lianbo (新闻联播) and photos of Chinese crowds waving red flags with black-and-white images from Nazi-era Germany". Comparisons with the Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels also spread. Official media coverage of the Zhanfan's presentation focused on his call to avoid "fake news and false reports (失实报道)" but also incorporated the "mouthpiece" comment.{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2011-12-05 |title=Goebbels in China? |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2011/12/05/goebbels-in-china/ |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=1 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001012754/https://chinamediaproject.org/2011/12/05/goebbels-in-china/ |url-status=live }}

CCTV regularly broadcasts the forced confessions of accused or convicted criminals and produces programming to go along with them.{{Cite news |last1=Carlson |first1=Benjamin |title=In China, the confession will be televised. In fact, it already is |website=Public Radio International |publisher= |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-15/china-confession-will-be-televised-fact-it-already |url-status=live |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018121823/https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-15/china-confession-will-be-televised-fact-it-already |archive-date=18 October 2020}} These programs are often filmed before the beginning of formal judicial procedures.{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |date=2016-01-21 |title=China Uses Foreigners' Televised Confessions to Serve Its Own Ends |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/world/asia/china-confession-cctv.html |url-status=live |access-date=2020-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016045325/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/world/asia/china-confession-cctv.html |archive-date=16 October 2020 |issn=0362-4331}} Domestic dissidents such as lawyers, journalists, and activists as well as foreigners have been the victim of this practice.{{Cite news |last1=Huang |first1=Zheping |date=15 July 2015 |title=China is using televised confessions to shame detained lawyers, journalists, and activists |website=Quartz |publisher= |url=https://qz.com/453477/china-is-using-televised-confessions-to-shame-detained-lawyers-journalists-and-activists/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014161349/https://qz.com/453477/china-is-using-televised-confessions-to-shame-detained-lawyers-journalists-and-activists/ |archive-date=14 October 2020}}{{Cite news |last=Chin |first=Josh |date=2016-01-25 |title=On Chinese TV, Confessions Are All the Rage |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2016/01/25/on-chinese-tv-confessions-are-all-the-rage/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314053844/http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2016/01/25/on-chinese-tv-confessions-are-all-the-rage/ |archive-date=14 March 2017 |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite news |last1=Jiang |first1=Steven |date=26 January 2016 |title=Trial by media? Confessions go prime time in China |website=CNN |publisher= |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/asia/china-television-confessions/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417015338/https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/26/asia/china-television-confessions/index.html |archive-date=17 April 2021}}

In 2013, Peter Humphrey and Charles Xue's forced confessions were aired on CCTV. Since being freed, Humphrey has been highly critical of CCTV and the practice of airing forced confessions.{{Cite news |last1=Humphrey |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter William Humphrey |title=Countering China's Forced Confessions |website=The Diplomat |publisher= |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/countering-chinas-forced-confessions/ |url-status=live |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013124143/https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/countering-chinas-forced-confessions/ |archive-date=13 October 2020}} In 2020, the British media regulator Ofcom sided with Humphrey and announced sanctions against CGTN, which aired Humphrey's confession and was branded as CCTV News at the time.{{Cite news |date=2020-07-06 |title=Chinese TV channel breached rules with 'forced confession' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53308057 |url-status=live |access-date=2020-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706202331/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53308057 |archive-date=6 July 2020}}{{Cite news |last1= |title=UK Watchdog Upholds Complaint Against Chinese Broadcaster |website=Barron's |publisher= |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/uk-watchdog-upholds-complaint-against-chinese-broadcaster-01594040407 |url-status=live |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408043513/https://www.barrons.com/news/uk-watchdog-upholds-complaint-against-chinese-broadcaster-01594040407 |archive-date=8 April 2022}}

In 2014, CCTV broadcast the forced confession of the then-septuagenarian journalist Gao Yu.

In 2016, Peter Dahlin and Gui Minhai's forced confessions were aired on CCTV. In 2019 Dahlin filed a complaint against China Global Television Network (CGTN) and China Central Television-4 (CCTV-4) with Canadian authorities.{{cite news |last1=Nuttall |first1=Jeremy |date=10 June 2020 |title=China broadcast my forced confession in Canada — and CRTC does nothing: ex-prisoner |work=Toronto Star |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/06/09/china-broadcast-my-forced-confession-in-canada-and-crtc-does-nothing-ex-prisoner.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610235644/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/06/09/china-broadcast-my-forced-confession-in-canada-and-crtc-does-nothing-ex-prisoner.html |archive-date=10 June 2020}}

On 21 November 2019, CCTV's international arm CGTN aired a video of a forced confession from Hong Kong activist Simon Cheng. Within a week, Cheng had filed a new complaint to Ofcom over the broadcast.{{Cite news |date=2019-11-28 |title=Simon Cheng: UK media watchdog receives 'China forced confession' complaint |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50592641 |url-status=live |access-date=2021-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418232932/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-50592641 |archive-date=18 April 2021}}

In 2020, the forced confession of Taiwanese citizen Lee Meng-chu was aired on a CCTV program. A day later, the same program aired the forced confession of an academic from Taiwan accused of espionage and separatist activities.{{Cite news |last1=Teng |first1=Sylvia |date=13 October 2020 |title=Another Taiwanese reportedly detained by China for 'endangering national security' |website=Taiwan News |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4028918 |url-status=live |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016220238/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4028918 |archive-date=16 October 2020}}

{{main|Beijing Television Cultural Center fire}}

On 9 February 2009, the Beijing Television Cultural Center caught fire on the last day of the festivities of Chinese New Year, killing one firefighter.{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Andrew |date=9 February 2009 |title=Fire Ravages Renowned Building in Beijing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/world/asia/10beijing.html |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818084130/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/world/asia/10beijing.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=beijing%20fire&st=cse |archive-date=18 August 2018 |access-date=10 February 2009 |work=The New York Times}} The blaze rendered the 42-story structure unusable, as the zinc and titanium alloy of the outer skin was burnt.

The fire had implications for the credibility of CCTV, which was already unpopular because of its dominance in the media.[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38400de8-f9c2-11dd-9daa-000077b07658.html Beijing fire evokes mixed reactions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214211257/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38400de8-f9c2-11dd-9daa-000077b07658.html|date=14 February 2009}} , Financial Times, 13 February 2009. The incident was mocked by netizens who reproduced photoshopped photos of the fire and criticized CCTV for censoring coverage. Pictures of the fire are widely distributed on the internet, as a result of citizen journalism.[http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/18432-credibility-of-cctv-tarnished-by-big-fire Credibility of CCTV tarnished by big fire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720124639/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/18432-credibility-of-cctv-tarnished-by-big-fire|date=20 July 2011}} , The Malaysian Insider, 16 February 2009.

During the 2011 military intervention in Libya, reports from CCTV tended to support Muammar Gaddafi's arguments, claiming that the coalition forces attacked Libyan civilians and the military intervention was no different from an invasion. In some of the news reports, CCTV used images of demonstrators and said that they were against NATO's military intervention. CCTV also mislabeled a person holding a banner which said "Vive la France" ("long live France" in French) and claimed that he was a supporter of Gaddafi. Later on 27 March, a Chinese banner that said "Muammar Gaddafi is a lier. {{sic}}" was shown in some Libyan demonstration videos on the Internet.{{Cite news |title=利比亚反对派举中文标语"卡扎菲是说谎者" |url=http://v.ifeng.com/news/world/201103/a504ae85-65ce-423f-84c9-20c18b499694.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422214347/http://v.ifeng.com/news/world/201103/a504ae85-65ce-423f-84c9-20c18b499694.shtml |archive-date=22 April 2016 |access-date=1 September 2016 |website=Phoenix Television |language=zh}}

In 2019, CCTV announced that they were cancelling the broadcast of two National Basketball Association preseason games in response to a tweet by the General Manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, in support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. After Adam Silver defended the General Manager's right to free speech, CCTV responded with, "We express our strong dissatisfaction and opposition to Silver's stated support of Morey's right to free speech. We believe any remarks that challenge national sovereignty and social stability do not belong to the category of free speech," and continued, "We will also immediately examine all other cooperation and exchanges with the NBA."{{Cite news |last1=Toh |first1=Michelle |date=8 October 2019 |title=China won't show NBA preseason games as backlash over Hong Kong tweet grows |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/media/nba-china-hong-kong-morey/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009014400/https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/media/nba-china-hong-kong-morey/index.html |archive-date=9 October 2019 |access-date=9 October 2019 |website=CNN |publisher=}}

{{Further|Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

During the 2022 Winter Paralympics, CCTV censored a speech by International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite news |date=2022-03-05 |title=Paralympic Committee asks Beijing why anti-war speech censored |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220305-paralympic-committee-asks-beijing-why-anti-war-speech-censored |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308120406/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220305-paralympic-committee-asks-beijing-why-anti-war-speech-censored |archive-date=8 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-11 |website=France 24 |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=March 5, 2022 |title=Paralympic Body Asks China Why it Censored Anti-War Speech |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-05/paralympic-body-presses-china-on-censoring-of-no-war-speech |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305105152/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-05/paralympic-body-presses-china-on-censoring-of-no-war-speech |archive-date=5 March 2022 |access-date=March 10, 2022 |work=Bloomberg News}} CCTV promoted Russian disinformation such as unsubstantiated claims of biological weapons labs in Ukraine.{{Cite news |last=Yuan |first=Li |date=2022-03-04 |title=How China Embraces Russian Propaganda and Its Version of the War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/business/china-russia-ukraine-disinformation.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220314120327/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/business/china-russia-ukraine-disinformation.html |archive-date=14 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Wong |first=Edward |date=2022-03-11 |title=U.S. Fights Bioweapons Disinformation Pushed by Russia and China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/us/politics/russia-ukraine-china-bioweapons.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314115329/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/us/politics/russia-ukraine-china-bioweapons.html |archive-date=14 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news |last=Rising |first=David |date=March 11, 2022 |title=China amplifies unsupported Russian claim of Ukraine biolabs |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-covid-health-biological-weapons-china-39eeee023efdf7ea59c4a20b7e018169 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311112049/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-covid-health-biological-weapons-china-39eeee023efdf7ea59c4a20b7e018169 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |access-date=March 11, 2022 |work=Associated Press}}{{Cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Simone |date=March 10, 2022 |title=China's promotion of Russian disinformation indicates where its loyalties lie |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/10/china/china-russia-disinformation-campaign-ukraine-intl-dst-hnk/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310213748/https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/10/china/china-russia-disinformation-campaign-ukraine-intl-dst-hnk/index.html |archive-date=10 March 2022 |access-date=March 11, 2022 |work=CNN}} In April 2022, CCTV repeated Russian claims that the Bucha massacre was staged.{{Cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Simone |last2=Xiong |first2=Yong |date=6 April 2022 |title=As the world reacts in horror to Bucha, China's state media strikes a different tone |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/china/china-reacts-bucha-ukraine-atrocities-intl-hnk-mic/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409022758/https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/china/china-reacts-bucha-ukraine-atrocities-intl-hnk-mic/index.html |archive-date=9 April 2022 |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=CNN}}

{{Further|2022 COVID-19 protests in China}}

During the 2022 COVID-19 protests in China, CCTV's coverage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup censored scenes of maskless fans in the stadium.{{Cite news |last=Mellor |first=Sophie |date=28 November 2022 |title=China's state-owned television is editing maskless fans out of its World Cup coverage |url=https://fortune.com/2022/11/28/china-state-owned-television-editing-maskless-fans-out-world-cup-coverage/ |access-date=28 November 2022 |work=Fortune |archive-date=28 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128132203/https://fortune.com/2022/11/28/china-state-owned-television-editing-maskless-fans-out-world-cup-coverage/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Wei |first=Low De |date=28 November 2022 |title=World Cup Fans Without Masks Pose Dilemma for Chinese TV Amid Protests |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-28/maskless-world-cup-fans-pose-dilemma-for-chinese-broadcasters |access-date=28 November 2022 |work=Bloomberg News}} CCTV avoided coverage of the protests directly.{{Cite news |last=Yerushalmy |first=Jonathan |date=28 November 2022 |title=How Chinese media have – and haven't – covered widespread protests against zero-Covid |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/28/how-chinese-media-have-and-havent-covered-widespread-protests-against-zero-covid |access-date=28 November 2022 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=1 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001012754/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/28/how-chinese-media-have-and-havent-covered-widespread-protests-against-zero-covid |url-status=live }}

In 2023, CCTV ran paid ads on social media platforms in multiple countries and languages denouncing the discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which critics labeled part of a concerted disinformation campaign.{{Cite news |last1=Rich |first1=Motoko |last2=Liu |first2=John |date=2023-08-31 |title=China's Disinformation Fuels Anger Over Fukushima Water Release |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/world/asia/china-fukushima-water-protest.html |access-date=2023-09-01 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930231110/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/world/asia/china-fukushima-water-protest.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2023-09-02 |title=Fukushima: China's anger at Japan is fuelled by disinformation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66667291 |access-date=2023-09-03 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930231107/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-66667291 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Davidson |first=Helen |date=2023-09-04 |title=State-backed disinformation fuelling anger in China over Fukushima water |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/04/state-backed-disinformation-fuelling-anger-in-china-over-fukushima-wastewater-japan |access-date=2023-09-06 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001095925/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/04/state-backed-disinformation-fuelling-anger-in-china-over-fukushima-wastewater-japan |url-status=live }}

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