CCTV-6

{{Short description|Chinese TV channel}} {{Distinguish|China Film Group Corporation}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox television channel | name = CCTV-6 电影<br>China Movie Channel | logo = 200px|class=skin-invert | logo_size = 200px | image = | launch_date = {{start date and age|1996|1|1|df=y}} | picture_format = 1080i HDTV <br/>(downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) | owner = Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party | former_names = | website = {{URL|https://tv.cctv.com/cctv6}} | country = China | terr_serv_1 = Digital TV (DTMB) | terr_chan_1 = Digital channel number varies by area. | online_serv_1 = CCTV program website | online_chan_1 = [https://tv.cctv.com/live/cctv6 CCTV-6] (some programs may screened off due to copyright restriction) | online_serv_2 = 1905 live | online_chan_2 = [http://www.1905.com/cctv6/live/ CCTV-6] }} '''China Movie Channel'''{{efn|{{Lang-zh|t=電影頻道|s=电影频道|hp=Diànyǐng píndào}}}} refers both to a government-affiliated production agency and to the movie-focused television channel '''CCTV-6''' operated under its direction. The agency, officially known as the "'''Satellite TV Show Production Facility'''",{{efn|{{Lang-zh|t=電影衞星頻道節目製作中心|s=电影卫星频道节目制作中心|hp=Diànyǐng wèixīng píndào jiémù zhìzuò zhōngxīn|l=Satellite TV Show Production Facility}}}} is a division of the National Radio and Television Administration of the People's Republic of China. It is responsible for producing content and managing operations for CCTV-6, a dedicated movie channel that forms part of the broader China Central Television system.

CCTV-6, also branded as the '''China Central Television Movie Channel''', occupies a unique position as both a government-run propaganda outlet and a commercial entertainment broadcaster. It uses the branding and logo of China Central Television (CCTV),<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Pan|first1=Jennifer|last2=Shao|first2=Zijie|last3=Xu|first3=Yiqing|date=2021|title=How government-controlled media shifts policy attitudes through framing|journal=Political Science Research and Methods|volume=10 |issue=2 |language=en|pages=317–332|doi=10.1017/psrm.2021.35|s2cid=243422723|issn=2049-8470}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Chris |date=2018-03-21 |title=China Gives Communist Party More Control Over Policy and Media |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/asia/china-communist-party-xi-jinping.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112211222/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/asia/china-communist-party-xi-jinping.html |archive-date=12 November 2021 |access-date=2021-11-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |quote=Under the new plan, the party’s Department of Propaganda will take direct control of film, the news media and publications from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, a government agency.}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Brady |first=Anne-Marie |author-link=Anne-Marie Brady |title=Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China |date=2009-11-16 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-0-7425-6790-0 |pages=17, 167 |language=en |oclc=968245349}}</ref><ref name="Edney">{{Cite book|last=Edney|first=Kingsley|title=The Globalization of Chinese Propaganda|date=2014|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US|isbn=978-1-349-47990-0|location=New York|pages=22, 195|language=en|doi=10.1057/9781137382153|quote=In recent years however the Party State has recognised the negative connotations of the word "propaganda" in English and now official English translations refer to the "Publicity Department" }}</ref> which is a subsidiary of the China Media Group. The channel plays a dual role: supporting the state's cultural and ideological messaging through film while also catering to public entertainment demand. It has aired major state productions such as the CCTV New Year's Gala since 1996, and frequently broadcasts state-approved domestic and international films.

Nationwide coverage is achieved through encrypted satellite signals via ChinaSat 6B <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinasatcom.com/n782704/n3412226/index.html|title=中国卫通集团股份有限公司-中星6B|trans-title=China Satellite Communications Co., Ltd. – ChinaSat 6B|website=China Satellite Communications|language=zh|access-date=2022-04-30 }}</ref> and ChinaSat 9,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinasatcom.com/n782704/c791204/content.html|title=中星9号|date=2 December 2014|access-date=25 July 2017|work=China Satellite Communications|language=zh}}</ref> and the channel's reach extends to digital cable and IPTV networks. In addition to its flagship free-to-air channel, the Movie Channel also operates the CHC (China Home Cinema) series of premium pay-TV movie channels—including "CHC Home Cinema", "CHC Action Movie", and "CHC Movie Fan".<ref>{{cite web |title=Free Trial for a Month! CHC Home Cinema and CHC Action Movie Channel Upgraded to HD |trans-title=免费体验一个月！CHC家庭影院、CHC动作电影频道升级高清频道 | url=https://www.sohu.com/a/151499869_300657 |website=Sohu |access-date=2024-04-26 |language=zh}}</ref> It manages the professional film portal "1905.com" and publishes the print and digital magazine ''China Screen''. It also holds an awards show.

== History ==

In 1993, director Li Qian-kuan and 29 deputies of the National People's Congress proposed the establishment of a "China Movie Channel" during the first session of the 8th National People's Congress. In June 1994, with approval from the former Ministry of Radio, Film and Television of the People's Republic of China, the directly affiliated institution '''Film Satellite Channel Program Production Center''' (commonly known as the '''Movie Channel Program Center''') was established.<ref name="bilibili2018">{{cite web |title=Impact: 40 Years of China's Reform and Opening-Up – Episode 41 |url=https://www.bilibili.com/bangumi/play/ep260849 |author=Movie Channel Integrated Media Center |date=2018-12-30 |website=Bilibili |access-date=2020-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716163759/https://www.bilibili.com/bangumi/play/ep260849 |archive-date=2021-07-16 |url-status=live |language=zh}}</ref>

On November 30, 1995, at 8:30 AM, the Movie Channel commenced trial broadcasts, airing 16 hours of programming daily. The channel utilized dual identifiers: the "CCTV +6" logo in the top-left corner and "Movie Channel" in the bottom-right. Initially, during advertisements and promotional segments, the "Movie Channel" logo was absent but was later replaced with a graphical logo. From January 1, 1996, the channel officially launched under the call sign '''Ministry of Radio, Film and Television's Movie Satellite Channel''', becoming part of the China Central Television channel lineup and broadcasting nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/VbTMac0oVyU/ |title=1999 CCTV-6 Program Broadcast Segment |access-date=2015-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210072954/http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/VbTMac0oVyU/ |archive-date=2015-02-10 |url-status=live |website=Tudou}}</ref> By February 1997, the channel had attracted 20% of China's television viewing audience. At the time, the channel had an annual amount of movies (1,000 per year) for a daily 16-hour schedule, consisting of Chinese movies that were produced at least two years before, as well as cheap foreign movies. Usually, a day on CCTV-6 consisted of six Chinese productions and two foreign ones, for an average of fifteen out of the sixteen hours on air. The remaining hour of programming largely consisted of filler material, mostly made by CCTV.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Li |first1=H. |title=Moving with the times |work=Inter Press Service |date=February 20, 1997}}</ref>

In 1998, following the Institutional reform of the State Council, the former Ministry of Radio, Film and Television was downgraded to a ministerial-level institution directly under the State Council, becoming the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. Consequently, the official name of the Movie Channel was changed to '''State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television's Movie Satellite Channel'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Movie Channel Wins Infringement Case Against China Education Television for Unauthorized Broadcast of Patriotic Films, Awarded 50,000 Yuan |url=https://www.chinacourt.org/article/detail/2006/07/id/212995.shtml |access-date=2019-04-30 |date=2006-07-21 |website=China Court Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510140437/https://www.chinacourt.org/article/detail/2006/07/id/212995.shtml |archive-date=2019-05-10 |url-status=live |language=zh}}</ref> In June 1999, the channel gained an increase in its investment, especially with the potential rise in the film industry in China. The channel had aired a limited number of national movies due to low production figures since its 1995 launch. By then, the channel had become the second most-popular in China, behind its main channel, CCTV-1.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yang |first1=L. |title=CCTV movie channel gets large investment |work=China Daily |date=June 24, 1999}}</ref> A November 2001 survey conducted by the China Mainland Marketing Research Company reported CCTV-6 as having 700 million viewers, with 81.4% of surveyants preferring the channel.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Li |first1=J. |title=Satellite television viewers on the increase |work=China Daily |date=November 8, 2001}}</ref>

In 2004, the China Movie Channel Program Center launched the digital pay-TV channel China Movie Channel and the "China Movie Channel" (CMC) aimed at North American audiences through its subsidiary Huacheng Film & Television Digital Program Co., Ltd.<ref name="ref1">{{cite web |title=Huacheng Introduction |url=http://www.chc2004.cn/about/aboutus/ |access-date=2019-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006165929/http://www.chc2004.cn/about/aboutus/ |archive-date=2018-10-06 |url-status=live |website=CHC2004.cn |language=zh}}</ref> In 2005, the "China Movie Channel" (CMC) was launched in Hong Kong. Starting January 1, 2006, the channel began 24-hour broadcasting, and in the same year, CHC HD Movie Channel and CHC Action Movie Channel were launched. In addition, the Program Center also began offering Video On Demand (VOD) services. It has since developed into a multi-channel, high-quality, and clustered program platform.<ref name="ref2">{{cite web |title=Introduction of China Movie Channel Program Center |url=http://www.1905.com/news/20100816/383242.shtml |access-date=2019-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428183808/http://www.1905.com/news/20100816/383242.shtml |archive-date=2019-04-28 |url-status=live |website=1905.com |language=zh}}</ref>

On September 28, 2012, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television approved the channel's simultaneous broadcast in both SD and HD. In December of the same year, the HD version was officially launched. Initially, up until November 25, 2012, China Central Television (CCTV) was responsible for the broadcasting and satellite uplink of the channel. On November 26, 2012, as part of a transition of some CCTV channels to a new site, the program feed responsibility was shifted to the China Movie Channel Program Center, with CCTV only managing the SD uplink. (CCTV ceased backup broadcasting on December 9, 2012.) This resulted in the channel being unable to independently broadcast national mourning programming on April 4, 2020, during the National Day of Mourning, instead simulcasting CCTV-1.<ref name="ref3">{{cite web |title=CCTV-6 Program Schedule for April 4, 2020 |url=http://www.flvcd.com/parse.php?kw=http%3A%2F%2Ftv.cctv.com%2Flive%2Fcctv6%3Ft%3D1%26channel%3Dcctv6%26date%3D20200404%26channelName%3DCCTV-6%25B5%25E7%25D3%25B0%25C6%25B5%25B5%25C0%25B8%25DF%25C7%25E5%25D6%25B1%25B2%25A5_CCTV%25BD%25DA%25C4%25BF%25B9%25D9%25CD%25F8_%25D1%25EB%25CA%25D3%25CD%25F8 |access-date=2020-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712145625/http://www.flvcd.com/parse.php?kw=http%3A%2F%2Ftv.cctv.com%2Flive%2Fcctv6%3Ft%3D1%26channel%3Dcctv6%26date%3D20200404%26channelName%3DCCTV-6%25B5%25E7%25D3%25B0%25C6%25B5%25B5%25C0%25B8%25DF%25C7%25E5%25D6%25B1%25B2%25A5_CCTV%25BD%25DA%25C4%25BF%25B9%25D9%25CD%25F8_%25D1%25EB%25CA%25D3%25CD%25F8 |archive-date=2020-07-12 |url-status=live |website=FLVCD |language=zh}}</ref>

In 2013, as part of a reorganization of State Council institutions, the functions of the General Administration of Press and Publication and the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television were merged to form the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, and the former "SARFT Movie Channel Program Center" was renamed accordingly.<ref name="ref4">{{cite web |title=Court ruling between SARFT Movie Channel and Baofeng Group over information network transmission rights |url=https://www.tianyancha.com/lawsuit/bec2eee0340511e8bc346c92bf3bac55 |access-date=2019-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826085403/https://www.tianyancha.com/lawsuit/bec2eee0340511e8bc346c92bf3bac55 |archive-date=2019-08-26 |url-status=live |website=Tianyancha |language=zh}}</ref><ref name="ref5">{{cite web |title=State Administration's Affiliated Institutions – Movie Channel Program Center |url=http://www.sapprft.gov.cn/sapprft/govpublic/6643/334643.shtml |access-date=2019-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510112157/http://www.sapprft.gov.cn/sapprft/govpublic/6643/334643.shtml |archive-date=2019-05-10 |url-status=live |website=sapprft.gov.cn |language=zh}}</ref>

On April 1, 2015, the channel adopted a new gold-colored logo at the lower-right corner.<ref name="ref6">{{cite web |title=CCTV-6 "M" Logo Slightly Adjusted |url=https://www.logonews.cn/cctv-6-new-logo-2015.html |access-date=2020-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430031703/http://www.logonews.cn/cctv-6-new-logo-2015.html |archive-date=2018-04-30 |url-status=live |website=Logo News |language=zh}}</ref>

On September 28, 2018, following the 2018 institutional reform, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television was abolished, and its film and media oversight duties were transferred to the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. The program center was accordingly renamed to the China Movie Channel Program Center under the Publicity Department of the CCP.<ref name="ref2" />

Starting January 1, 2022, the channel was selected by the General Administration of Sport of China as the official television platform for announcing China Sports Lottery results.<ref name="ref8">{{Cite web|title=2022 Lottery Draw Information Announcement Channels|url=http://www.news.cn/caipiao/20211227/aa0c7999bd2447b48ee25c49309106ed/c.html|website=www.news.cn|access-date=2024-04-12}}</ref>

== Major events ==

* China Movie Channel Media Awards * China Film Big Data Ceremony<ref name="js2019">{{cite news |title="2019 Movie Channel M-Chart" Honors Announced |url=http://news.jsnol.com/local/2020/0103/20673.html |website=苏北网 |date=2020-01-03 |access-date=2023-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410150918/http://news.jsnol.com/local/2020/0103/20673.html |archive-date=2023-04-10 |url-status=live |language=zh}}</ref> * Bay Area Rising Moon Film and Music Gala<ref>{{cite news |title=Greater Bay Area Shopping Festival Opens with 92 Premium Products Forming "China Dream Team" |url=http://www.hkcd.com/hkcdweb/content/2021/09/03/content_1291402.html |access-date=2021-09-03 |date=2021-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918083651/http://www.hkcd.com/hkcdweb/content/2021/09/03/content_1291402.html |archive-date=2021-09-18 |url-status=live |website=香港商報 |language=zh}}</ref> (since 2021 and 2023, co-hosted with Bauhinia Culture Holdings Limited<ref>{{cite web |title=Building a Cultural Flagship: Bauhinia Culture Group Launches Major Projects in Shenzhen |url=https://www.163.com/dy/article/GKHIHLTE05129QAF.html |access-date=2021-09-24 |date=2021-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924175224/https://www.163.com/dy/article/GKHIHLTE05129QAF.html |archive-date=2021-09-24 |url-status=live |website=163.com |language=zh}}</ref> and Phoenix Television)

== Channels ==

=== Official website === {{main|1905.com}} The portal site of the channel is "1905.com". The domain name "1905" refers to the beginning of Chinese or Chinese-language cinema. In addition to providing news, the website offers digital films produced by the China Movie Channel as well as on-demand streaming for films to which the channel holds online rights.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

=== Special broadcast arrangements === In response to international or domestic events, the Movie Channel sometimes cancels or changes its scheduled programming, broadcasting films related to current affairs, or sometimes films that may be interpreted as critical of the country involved. As a result, Chinese netizens have nicknamed the channel "Princess 6" (六公主).<ref name=":3">{{cite web |title=She is bold, and I like it |url=https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/WkGdDkMKkhjg2sfIxXgH1A |access-date=2021-07-15 |author=Yingtan |date=2021-05-14 |publisher=WeChat Official Accounts |archive-date=2021-07-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717140053/https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/WkGdDkMKkhjg2sfIxXgH1A}}</ref> In response, Dong Ruifeng, director of the Programming Department of the Movie Channel under the Publicity Department of the CCP, stated: "In certain special situations, we do make emergency changes in programming. We are using film as an art form to respond to the current times."<ref>{{cite web |title=CCTV-6 responds to the nickname 'Princess 6' for the first time: Programming must reflect current affairs |url=http://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Eb411E7G3 |access-date=2021-06-28 |author=Movie Channel Media Center |date=2019-03-19 |publisher=Bilibili |archive-date=2021-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629185926/https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Eb411E7G3}}</ref>

== Film collaborations == CCTV-6/CMC also co-produced three American movies, usually with Paramount Pictures: *''Transformers: Age of Extinction'' (2014) (with Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes, and di Bonaventura Pictures)<ref name="Franich">{{cite magazine|url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/04/02/transformers-4-china/|title=Paramount co-producing 'Transformers 4' with Chinese company|last=Franich|first=Darren|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=April 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/transformers-4-film-china-star-432311|title='Transformers 4' to Film in China, Star Chinese Actors as Paramount Enters Co-Production Agreement|work=The Hollywood Reporter|last=Zakarin|first=Jordan|date=April 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/paramount-partners-with-china-on-transformers-4/5053525.article|title=Paramount partners with China on Transformers 4|last=Shackleton|first=Liz|work=Screen International|date=April 3, 2013}}</ref> *''Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation'' (2015) (with Bad Robot, Skydance Productions, TC Productions, and Alibaba Pictures) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows'' (2016) (with Nickelodeon Movies, Platinum Dunes, and Alibaba Pictures)

== Footnotes == {{Notelist}}

==References== <references />

==External links== * {{Official website}}

Category:China Central Television channels Category:Government agencies of China Category:Cinema of China Category:Movie channels in China Category:Television channels and stations established in 1996 Category:Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party