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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

OKTO

OKTO is a community television station based in Vienna, Austria, that has operated since autumn 2005, allowing the public to create and broadcast their own content using free production facilities and airtime. The non-profit station is financed by the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR). 

Milano Pavia TV

Milano Pavia TV is an Italian local television broadcaster serving the northern Province of Pavia and the Milan metropolitan area. Originally launched as telePAVIA in February 2010, the station focused on local news, sports, culture, and events across Pavia Province. In February 2019, the broadcaster rebranded as Milano Pavia TV to expand its coverage to include Milan city and the southern Milan area. The station operates two daily news editions covering both territories and positions itself as an independent, non-partisan source of local information. 

LIMEX

LIMEX is a Cyprus-based streaming platform opened in February 2020. The platform provides live television channels from multiple countries across web platforms, offering content in over eight languages, including English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, and Arabic. LIMEX claims over 100 million downloads worldwide with presence in Nigeria, Brazil, Turkey, Germany, and Egypt. The company operates through official distribution agreements with broadcasters and content owners on a revenue-sharing model for advertising inventory, marketing regional variations of its service under different brand names, including World TV, Brasil TV, and US TV, while carrying channels such as Al Jazeera and Taiwan’s CNA on its platform.

RMC BFM Media Group

RMC BFM is a French media company founded in 2000 by businessman Alain Weill. The group operates major French media properties, including the rolling news channel BFM TV, the radio station RMC, and various regional news networks.

Propeller TV

Propeller TV (普羅派樂衛視) is an Anglo-Chinese television channel that launched in February 2006 on Sky’s satellite platform, delivering Chinese-related content on culture, lifestyle, and entertainment to UK English-speaking audiences. The channel was acquired in 2009 by Beijing-based marketing company Beijing Xijing Advertising Co., Ltd. (北京西京廣告有限公司), led by businessman Ye Maoxi (葉茂西), who said that he would use the station as a “propaganda platform” (宣傳平台) to “vigorously disseminate Chinese culture, etiquette, history, customs, economic development, product brands, and elite figures”  to stimulate European interest in China. Propeller TV has co-organized events with Chinese state entities, including a 2015 China-UK Film and TV Conference hosted by the State Council Information Office, the government body that is essentially the foreign arm of the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department. 

Stage Player+

StagePlayer+ is a UK-based subscription streaming platform that also offers international news channels. The company was founded in December 2019 and launched its news streaming service in January 2021. Among its initial 15-channel lineup was CGTN, the English-language international channel of China Central Television (CCTV), the state-run broadcaster under the China Media Group (CMG). CGTN had its UK broadcast license revoked by Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulatory body,  in February 2021 for failing to meet editorial independence requirements under British law, though it remained available on the platform operating under European licensing. 

Beijing Xijing Advertising Co., Ltd.

Beijing Xijing Advertising Co., Ltd. (北京西京廣告有限公司) is a Chinese advertising and commercial services company founded in December 1994 and based in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. The firm provides advertising design, production, and distribution, digital advertising services, property management, and equipment rental services. Wenzhou native entrepreneur Ye Maoxi (葉茂西) serves as chairman of Xijing Group, which in 2009 acquired UK satellite television station Propeller TV with plans to use the platform to promote Chinese culture and products in Europe. According to corporate filings, the company’s major shareholder is China Aviation International Exchange Center Co., Ltd., which holds 51 percent of the shares, while Xijing Culture Media (Beijing) Co., Ltd. owns approximately 27 percent. Corporate records show the company has undergone multiple changes in legal representation since 2023, with Qi Guofang (齊國芳) currently serving as executive director.

CMA CGN Group

CMA CGM Group is a French shipping and logistics company founded in Marseille in 1978. In 2024, CMA Media completed a major expansion by acquiring French news channels BFM TV, BFM Business, and radio station RMC, extending its presence across digital, audiovisual, print, and business-to-business event platforms.