Phoenix Television is a majority state-owned television network that offers Mandarin and Cantonese-language channels that serve

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, and other markets with substantial Chinese-language viewers. It is headquartered in

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

and

. It is also registered in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

. The founder of Phoenix TV, Liu Changle (), formerly served as an officer and political instructor in the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

in its 40th Group Army. He later became a journalist for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled China National Radio after the Cultural Revolution and maintains strong connections to the CCP's leadership. Liu is a standing member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Phoenix Television describes itself as a Hong Kong media outlet but holds a non-domestic television programme services license in Hong Kong. Most of the company's customers and non-current assets come from mainland China. Bauhinia Culture, a company wholly owned by the Chinese government, is its largest shareholder. Freedom House describes Phoenix Television as pro-Beijing. Stephen McDonell of

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

described the outlet as "sometimes more liberal than its mainland counterparts". The company's head offices are located in

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

and Tai Po,

and it also has correspondent offices in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and Shanghai. The Shenzhen office is said to produce half its TV output.

History

What eventually became Phoenix Television originated as a joint venture between Star TV in

, one private company in China, and China Central Television. Phoenix Chinese Channel was launched on 31 March 1996. It replaced Star Chinese Channel in

and

. Broadcasts in Singapore started on 1 December 1996 via the Singapore Cable Vision network; in its early years, the Phoenix Chinese Channel also carried Mandarin-dubbed American series during primetime hours, such as '' The X-Files'' and ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

''. The Phoenix CNE channel broadcasts in Europe, while the Phoenix North America Chinese Channel broadcasts across the Americas. In 2005, a

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based broadcast and engineering director for the channel, Tai Wang Mak, was arrested for conspiring with his brother, Chi Mak, to act as an intelligence agent for China. He was sentenced to ten years in prison announced in 2008. On 28 March 2011, Phoenix Television launched Phoenix Hong Kong Channel, broadcasting exclusively in Cantonese. On 31 March 2011, Phoenix InfoNews Channel was announced as a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

winner for its "Report on a New Generation of Migrant Workers in China." In 2011, Phoenix New Media formed a partnership with the BBC to offer the British broadcaster's programming on Phoenix's digital media platforms. This was followed by a similar partnership with the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

in 2012, under which 130 NFB animated shorts and documentary films would be offered digitally in China. In October 2013, the 12.15% of shares in Phoenix Television held by 21st Century Fox (through Star) were sold to TPG Capital for HK$1.66 billion (US$213 million).Tan, Clement
TPG pays Murdoch unit $214 million for Chinese media company stake
" Reuters 19 October 2013Joshua, Fellman
TPG China Media Buys Remaining Fox Stake in Phoenix Satellite TV
" Bloomberg L.P. 18 October 2013Frater, Patrick
21st Century Fox Sells Phoenix Stake
" '' Variety'' 22 October 2013 In February 2016, Phoenix Television broadcast forced confessions of kidnapped Hong Kong booksellers. In June 2020, the FCC ordered XEWW-AM, owned by Phoenix Television, to cease broadcasting. The Taiwanese government designated Phoenix as a Chinese government-funded company in April 2022, and required the company to end operations in Taiwan. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a Phoenix TV reporter was among the few foreign journalists to embed with the Russian military.

Corporate governance

Ownership

At launch, Star TV and a private sector company in China each owned 45% of the company, and state broadcaster China Central Television owned the remaining 10%. The original News Corporation's (and subsequently 21st Century Fox's) shares in Phoenix Television held through Star were gradually reduced over the years. Finally, 21st Century Fox sold its shares to TPG Capital in October 2013.TPG to Acquire 21st Century Fox's Stake in Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Limited
" (press release) TPG Capital; 21st Century Fox Business Wire 18 October 2013 According to the company's 2018 annual report, the company is owned by the following entities: In April 2021, Liu sold most of his shares to state-owned publisher Bauhinia Culture and Shun Tak Holdings.

Management

Liu Changle (), CEO and founder of Phoenix TV, was a journalist for the Chinese Communist Party-controlled China National Radio after the Cultural Revolution and had become one of China's richest men by the 1990s, being well-connected to the Beijing leadership. Shuang Liu () became COO of Phoenix TV on 17 February 2014. He continues to be the CEO of Phoenix New Media Ltd (NYSE: FENG), a new media company in China. Former director of Phoenix TV news Chung Pong testified under oath that Phoenix TV news' programing was "subject to the dictates of the leadership of the Central Communist Propaganda Department, Central Communist Overseas Propaganda Office, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

References

External links