SBS Australia Signs Deal With Chinese State Broadcaster

SBS Australia struck an agreement with the CCP-run media conglomerate China Media Group (中央广播电视总台), or CMG, in March 2018, to broadcast news bulletins on its SBS World Watch channel, including 30-minute Mandarin-language bulletins from China Central Television (中国中央电视台, CCTV) and 15-minute English-language bulletins from CGTN (中国环球电视网), the broadcaster’s global arm. CMG operates under the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department with the mandate of “propagating the party’s theories, directions, principles and policies” and “telling China’s stories well.” SBS defended the arrangement by stating it clearly identified content sources and would monitor international news services to ensure compliance with its codes of practice, while providing balance through its own locally produced news and SBS Mandarin radio programming. SBS suspended the CGTN and CCTV broadcasts in March 2021 following complaints from Safeguard Defenders alleging the channels had broadcast forced confessions.