The Chinese state broadcaster CGTN has lost its broadcast licence in the UK after Ofcom concluded that the news network, formerly known as CCTV, was ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist party.
The decision will come as a serious blow for the organisation, which was hoping to use an expanded presence in London as the foothold for a substantial international operation.
UK broadcasting laws require the body that holds the broadcast licence to have control over the content that is broadcast. But according to Ofcom’s investigation, Star China Media Limited, the privately owned company that holds the UK licence, does not actually have editorial responsibility for the content aired on CGTN, and so cannot hold the licence.
A last-minute attempt to transfer the licence to another organisation, CGTN Corporation, was also rejected, Ofcom said, because “crucial information was missing from the application”, and because the company “is controlled by a body which is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist party”.
“Our investigation showed that the licence for China Global Television Network is held by an entity which has no editorial control over its programmes,” an Ofcom spokesperson said. “We’ve provided CGTN with numerous opportunities to come into compliance, but it has not done so. We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK.”
The decision to reject the licence transfer raises the prospect of retaliation against the BBC from Beijing. The UK broadcaster maintains there is a distinction between being state controlled, as with CCTV or Iran’s Press TV, and being publicly owned but independent. But the similarities have left the BBC open to tit-for-tat reprisals in the past.
In its response to Ofcom’s investigation, CGTN expressly drew comparisons with the BBC. “CGTNC’s current shareholder is CCTV, a Chinese state television broadcaster since its establishment in 1958, with a similar status to that of the BBC, France Televisions Group, NHK (Japan), KBS (Korea) and others,” the broadcaster argued.
“From the perspective of ‘de facto control’, the global editorial board exercises independent editorial control over the CGTN service,” CGNTC added. “The board of directors, with significant media and management experience, is in fact in charge of the operation of the CGTN service.” The network did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.
The news was welcomed by Julian Knight MP, the chair of the digital, culture, media and port parliamentary committee. “Today’s ruling is confirmation that the Chinese Communist party is the ultimate controller of its broadcasts which is not permitted under UK law. CGTN had already breached broadcasting codes with a forced confession and failure on impartiality over coverage of the Hong Kong protests. It should be seen as a strong warning that the power to broadcast carries with it responsibility and accountability. Failing this bar will not be tolerated.”
Despite the end of its licence to broadcast in the UK, Ofcom is continuing to investigate CGTN for other violations. Last year, the organisation was found in breach of the regulator’s rules around fairness and privacy after it broadcast forced confessions from Peter Humphrey, a British former journalist held by police in China. Ofcom also ruled CGTN had violated impartiality requirements in its reporting on the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Those cases will probably lead to further sanctions against CGTN, the details of which Ofcom says it will conclude shortly.
A further three cases, all featuring similar allegations to Humphrey’s, are still under investigation.
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