BEIJING – The China International Television Corporation (CITVC) will launch China Hour in Portugal with Porto Canal. The weekly program titled China Hour will air in prime time on Wednesdays at 21:00, with two repeat broadcasts on Thursday and Saturday. China Hour on Porto Canal will commence broadcasting on 18 September.
The news was announced by Ms. Jianing Shen, Executive Vice President of CITVC and General Manager of China Radio, Film & Television Programs Exchanging Center. Mr. Júlio Magalhães, President of Porto Canal signed the one-year agreement.
China Hour will be a comprehensive China content slot including documentaries, TV series, and more. The first round of programs will comprise the popular CCTV series, Ode To Joy; documentaries: Inside China’s Biggest Gala, Tea, Porcelain Story, and Mt. Huangshan. More program to be announced at a later date. All programs broadcast in “China Hour” are licensed by CITVC, some are CCTV productions as well as others that are acquired from CITVC from various Chinese production and broadcast companies.
This agreement follows an April 12 Television Exchange Forum that took place in Porto when CITVC’s Shen, along with several Chinese companies, travelled to the city to foster cooperation with Porto Canal.
Ms. Jianing Shen said: “We are extremely pleased to partner with prestigious Portuguese broadcaster, Porto Canal, to share our wonderful Chinese series and documentaries with a new audience. Portuguese viewers are sophisticated and open to viewing other culture’s programming and we believe they will embrace our country’s finest programs.”
Founded in 1984, China International Television Corporation is a large state-owned enterprise. As a subsidiary to CITVC, China Radio, Film & Television Programs Exchanging Center is among China’s largest organizations specializing in marketing films and TV programs and publishing and distributing video/audio products.
Over the years, in cooperation with Chinese and foreign media organizations, the company has carried out copyright marketing, international co-production, multi-lingual translation, and has built localized commercial channel operations. It has also created the Film and TV Import & Export Association, and the Belt and Road Media Community.
Its marketing network coverage reaches more than 150 countries and regions on five continents. Every year the company provides more than 20,000 hours of high- quality television dramas, documentaries, cartoons, and variety to the international media, as well as introducing a large number of outstanding films and television series to Chinese audiences.
Porto Canal is a private Regional television station for Northern Portugal. It is a basic cable television channel only in Littoral Northern Portugal and a digital cable and satellite television in inland Northern Portugal and elsewhere. It is based in Matosinhos. Launched in 2006, it replaced the former NTV which transformed into RTPN, Radiotelevisão Portuguesa’s news channel. Porto Canal is available on the TV packages of NOS (cable and satellite), Meo (IPTV and satellite), Nowo (cable) and Vodafone (IPTV).
