The projection for the future is for TV advertising revenue to grow another 22-25 per cent this year. This would put China ahead of all other major countries in television market growth.

On the content front the report expects the programming sector to further broaden. Under the new Sarft policy guidelines, qualified foreign companies will be allowed to own a minority stake in programming joint ventures with state-owned Chinese partners. So it is expected that restrictions on partners' background and ownership percentage will be eased in the foreseeable future.

The report has noted that the ongoing roll-out of digital channels will give rise to demand for quality content. This will create significant opportunities for both Chinese and foreign content providers. Content will be the king in China as well.

The future landscape of the industry will likely be shaped by three forces: CCTV, dynamic provincial and overseas broadcasters (particularly SMG, Hunan TV and Phoenix), and leading private programming companies that have successfully ventured into broadcasting. Further liberalisation in the near future will create significant opportunities for the likes of Viacom and News Corp.