State broadcaster Central China Television has rebranded its international networks and digital presence under the name China Global Television Network as part of a push to consolidate its worldwide reach.
CCTV on Friday unveiled several new mobile apps under the CGTN brand, and visitors to CCTV's non-Chinese language websites are directed to a new http://www.cgtn.com site. The broadcaster says it made the move to "integrate resources and to adapt to the trend of media convergence," with foreign language channels, video content and digital media falling under the new group.
The broadcaster published a congratulatory letter from President Xi Jinping on Saturday urging the newly launched CGTN to "tell China's story well, spread China's voice well, let the world know a three-dimensional, colorful China, and showcase China's role as a builder of world peace."
The government has long grumbled about the Western news media's hold on international discourse and has spent vast sums in recent years to enhance its own influence and shape global opinion, with CCTV as one of its spearheads. The broadcaster has channels in English, Arabic, French, Spanish and Russian and production centers in Washington and Nairobi.
Chen Lidong, a CCTV official, said the rebranding would not affect CCTV's domestic operations.
CCTV and the official Xinhua News Agency have expanded aggressively in recent years with dual missions of becoming globally credible media heavyweights while sustaining their roles as vital propaganda organs of the Communist Party.
China announced a plan in 2009 to spend 45 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) to help spread its message abroad. In the years since, CCTV and Xinhua have leased a giant display in New York's Times Square that has, among other things, broadcast videos arguing China's position on the South China Sea territorial dispute.
State broadcaster Central China Television has rebranded its international networks and digital presence under the name China Global Television Network as part of a push to consolidate its worldwide reach.
