Video-sharing websites may all soon face their most powerful opponent to date. On February 18, the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) announced on its website that China Central Television's website (CCTV.com) is "actively making preparations to launch a 'national online TV station.'" Appearing for the first time, this authoritative name is certain to have an impact on the current structure of the video-sharing website market.

The statement, posted on the SARFT's website, said that the "national online TV station" will achieve the goal of taking the dominant position in the online video-sharing market. It will not only broadcast high-quality video content, it will also build a "video-sharing platform." In other words, CCTV's video-sharing website will not only broadcast videos in the same way a TV station does, it will probably also allow users to upload and share their videos, just like existing video-sharing websites.

This news from SARFT reveals that the "national online TV station" is still in the planning stage and preparations are being made in areas such as content construction, technological planning, broadcast coverage and personnel teams. Reporters learned that CCTV.com and CCTV's market research company have already started cooperation on the national online TV station project, mainly conducting research on user demand in order to gain a full understanding of netizens’ video viewing habits and their preference.

By People's Daily Online