※This article is about the state television broadcaster of China, widely known in East Asia as CCTV. For limited set of monitors, see Closed-circuit television.
Overview
In 1954, China 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 Eastern Germany for the inspection of their TV stations, then the duo returned to Beijing to prepare for the establishment of the TV station.
In time for its 20th jubilee, Beijing Television was formally renamed China Central Television on May 1, 1978, and a new logo was unveiled.
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. In 1984, CCTV established the wholly-owned subsidiary China International Television Corporation.
By 1985, CCTV had already become a leading television network in China. In 1987, CCTV's grew due to the adaptation and presentation of Dream of the Red Chamber, the first Chinese television drama to enter the global market. In the same year, CCTV exported 10,216 show to 77 foreign television stations.
On March 8, 2013, CCTV Xinke Animation Channel announced "Shinka Musume", the channel's anthropomorphic character.
