Dolon TV Gains Exclusive CCTV Rebroadcast Rights in Kyrgyzstan

Beginning in 2015, privately owned Kyrgyz broadcaster Dolon TV received Chinese government subsidies through 2018 under a designation in China’s “National Cultural Export Key Project” catalogue, according to an OSCE Academy in Bishkek research report on Chinese information operations in Kyrgyzstan. Around the same period, Dolon TV secured free, exclusive rebroadcast rights to at least ten CCTV channels, according to China Index, an independent research project tracking PRC-linked media relationships, which also reports that Dolon TV produces original programming on Chinese cultural and economic projects in Kyrgyzstan. Unlike Xinhua, Wen Wei Po, and Silk Road Observer, Dolon TV is not registered as foreign media with Kyrgyzstan’s government, and operates nominally as an independent local broadcaster while carrying Chinese state television content and receiving state support.