Huge Demand For Content

China's Film and TV industry has stepped out of the shadows to show the world just how big a monster their market is. Although 2009 was a global year of recession, China's cultural industry grew at an astounding 17 percent, faster even than the expansion of GDP and the service industry in China. 2009 has seen the addition of 600 new movie screens to bring the countrys total to 4,700. Box office revenue rose to 6.2 billion yuan ranking as one of the top 10 proftiable film markets in the world. China has strict rules regarding the number of foreign films playing to the chagrin of Hollywood but a boon for the domestic film makers.  With over 1.2 billion viewers, China has worlds the largest potential audience for TV. In addition to the local market Chinese TV programs are also popular on the overseas markets.

 With the launch of the 24-hour Chinese-language Celestial Movie channel broadcast out of Hong Kong, the growing strength of CCTV (China Central Television's Movie Channel), and the planned creation of other national Chinese movie channels, movie producers can now treat TV sales as a legitimate revenue source. The Chinese courts are starting to enforce China's laws against piracy and domestic producers are also increasingly litigious in protecting their copyright.

In terms of production China now ranks 3rd in the world with over 500 films produced in 2009. China's film industry is reaping the rewards of the relaxation of of foreign investment in the industry allowing greater leeway to aquire the knowledge and capital to compete with Hollywood. In the past, private producers were forced to buy a permit from one of three dozen state-owned studios, which received a fixed quota of permits from the government each year. One of the first steps the government took to open up the domestic film industry was to end the production monopoly of the large state-owned studios in 2002. Licensed private Chinese film companies may now apply directly to the government for approval to produce and distribute a movie. In the past, private producers were forced to buy a permit from one of three dozen state-owned studios, which received a fixed quota of permits from the government each year. Since state control was lifted, the government has approved a select number of private Chinese production companies, including China Media Inc.