8/14/2009

Chinese Merchant Bought UK TV Station

A merchant from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province has bought Propeller TV, a UK digital satellite television channel. It is not disclosed how much was paid for the deal reached last month.
The Leeds-based Propeller TV is a free-to-air and non-profit television channel run by the Image Channel Company Ltd, a subsidiary of the Grimsby Institute in the UK.


Launched in February 2006 on British Sky Broadcasting’s satellite platform, Propeller TV is the first digital satellite television channel in Europe to screen 100 percent new and original programming.


The buyer said he got in touch with the channel when visiting as a member of a Chinese trade delegation during Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit of the UK earlier this year.


After learning the TV was being shunned from the government’s fund and in need of a strategic investor due to the financial downturn, he decided on the buyout of Propeller TV.


After the purchase, the buyer said he would adjust the developing route of the TV station and use the platform to promote Chinese culture.


“There will be specific programs to introduce China and Wenzhou, with some to be broadcast in Chinese,” said the buyer. “It will be a venue for the Europeans to know more about China, and for overseas Chinese to get immediate information about the homeland.”

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