CCTV-4
CCTV-4 (Chinese: 中国中央电视台国际频道), is the international broadcast for CCTV International in the Mandarin language. It is one of three CCTV channels that broadcasts outside of China, the other two being CCTV-9 and CCTV-E&F.
This channel contains a variety of programs including documentaries, music, news, dramas, sports, and cartoons.
CCTV-4 can also be watched in the United States on DirecTV Satellite channel 454. Also, it can be watched streaming over the internet directly from CCTV-4's website.
Starting in 2007, CCTV 4 is broadcast in three separate time zones. The timezones are Beijing-China Time, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and Eastern Standard Time (EST). This schedule accommodates Chinese people abroad to be able to watch the same programs that mainland Chinese people watch on a similar daylight schedule. (Source: from CCTV website in Chinese). It should be noted that the program schedules do not adjust according to daylight saving time, so programs will either appear 1 hour ahead or 1 hour behind around the changeover in March and November on the "New York Time Zone" (纽约时间) (otherwise known as Eastern Standard/Daylight Time).
Featured Programs
- China News (news)
- Chinese cartoons (on Saturday mornings)
- Delightful Dish of the Day (English title of the cooking show)
NBA Coverage
As Yao Ming grows more influential in the National Basketball Association, this channel has been doing many interviews with him about his upbringing and how he has adjusted to life in the United States as he plays for the Houston Rockets. Interestingly enough, when there is coverage around the NBA, it is usually around Yao Ming himself as opposed to around the Houston Rockets or any other team in the league.
There has also been increasing coverage with other high profile Chinese basketball players such as Wang Zhi Zhi, formerly of the Dallas Mavericks and Yi Jianlian, a 2009 NBA draft inductee to the Milwaukee Bucks. There was also extensive coverage on their family backgrounds as well.
Taiwan Focus
CCTV 4 tended to focus on many issues surrounding politics, especially negative politics in Taiwan. There has been much focus specifically around Chen Shui-bian's downfall via his scandals and Ma Ying-jeou who will succeed his presidency.
Chinese World (Chinatown) Focus
There has also been much focus on the news from Chinatown newspapers throughout the world, such as New York's World Journal, London, Paris, France, and Milan, Italy. In May of 2007, there was one article reviewed which explained some problems relating to local policies (the one that affected Milan's "Chinatown"), where they said the local laws were trying to prohinit the display of Oriental signs as this took away from the local culture.
In February 2007, there was a complete documentary done on the New York Police Department on how they helped captured the African American who robbed a local Chinese citizen during the Chinese New Year festival late that evening. (Source: CCTV 4 in February 2007)
Lately there has been increasing attention paid to American Born Chinese who have high achievements such as a report done in May 2007 on the new Miss Southern California,[citation needed] a Chinese-American mayor in New Jersey, and a Chinese police officer who was promoted as the chief of police in San Francisco.
Special Programs
CCTV-4 features special programs when China celebrates particularly significant events in its history. Particularly, week-long programs can pre-empt regularly scheduled broadcasts like the following events:
Hong Kong Return To China - 10 Year Anniversary
CCTV-4 had extensive coverage of Hong Kong's return to China in 1997. The programs featured included entertainment, fireworks, and other celebrations broadcasted live on the week of June 25, 2007 to July 1, 2007. As a result, many programs that would have normally been broadcasted had been pre-empted. Outside news such as the 2007 London car bombs and the 2007 Glasgow International Airport bombings, commonly reported on CNN had actually been pre-empted as well. It was not until later on July 1, 2007 that the first breaking news of the bombings even appeared in the news more than 24 hours after the major incidents occurred.
Other Shows
- Medical show - A show that documented medical procedures that usually had happy ending. In May 2007, examples of what CCTV-4 showed includes:
- Intestine transplant - This episode showed how a mother from Guangdong, China donated half of her instestine to save her son. While the son's father could have donated, they portrayed her as the hero because she almost became a patient herself when the operation almost failed. In the end, both mother and son were fine.
- Autism - This episode showed how an autistic child was able to perform big math problems, but had problems being social with his peers.
- Culinary Show - "A Delightful Dish of the Day"