Phoenix Television is a television network that broadcasts Chinese programs designed for audiences in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen, China, and maintains a significant presence in Hong Kong through the operation of a sizable office there. Additionally, the network has a presence in the United States, operating under the name Phoenix TV US.
Media assets
Television: Phoenix Chinese Channel, Phoenix Movies Channel, Phoenix CNE Channel, Phoenix Hong Kong Channel, Phoenix TV US
Publishing: Phoenix Weekly
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
Phoenix TV is operated by Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd., a company founded by Liu Changle, a former political specialist who had previously been employed by the Chinese army and subsequently by Chinese state-owned media. Since its inception in 1996, Phoenix TV has undergone multiple changes in ownership.
Previous owners of the company included private entities such as 21st Century Fox, which is owned by News Corporation. The Chinese state held less than 50% of the shares in Phoenix TV, with its indirect holding being through the state-owned China Mobile, a telecommunications operator, and Bank of China, which is directly accountable to the Chinese government.
The most recent data obtained from a group of investigative journalists in China indicates that the largest stake in Phoenix TV is currently held by Bauhinia Culture Holdings Limited, a fully state-owned enterprise in which the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China serves as a singular investor.
Source of funding and budget
Phoenix TV is primarily financed through the generation of commercial revenues. Nevertheless, the broadcaster is known to frequently receive financial support from the Chinese government in the form of state-sponsored advertisements purchased by state-owned enterprises (often the very companies that own the network).
The aggregate value of these advertising contracts is significantly less than 50%, as indicated in the most recent annual report for 2021, during which the company generated total revenues in excess of CNY 1bn (equivalent to US$ 161m).
Editorial independence
There is an increasing body of evidence that Phoenix TV adheres to an editorial stance that is aligned with the interests of the Chinese government. In a deposition in the United States, Chung Pong, a former news director at Phoenix TV, stated that the station was “subject to the dictates of the leadership of the Central Communist Propaganda Department, the Central Communist Overseas Propaganda Office, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” In recent years, the station has been the subject of criticism for broadcasting programs that were overtly pro-government.
There is no legal instrument or autonomous evaluation and supervision apparatus in place to ascertain the impartiality of Phoenix TV.
September 2024