China Theater 2025 Screening Report

CASE STUDIES

China Theater 2025 Screening Report

Brand

China Media Group

Services

Licensing

Scope

End-to-end Licensing Solution and Screening

Market

Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia

About CMG

Who is CMG?

China Media Group (CMG), officially known as 中央广播电视总台, was established in March 2018 through the merger of three major Chinese media organizations: China Central Television (CCTV), China National Radio (CNR), and China Radio International (CRI). CMG is China’s largest state-owned broadcasting organization, operating under the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China and the State Council.

Headquartered in Beijing, CMG manages 49 television channels—including the international platform CGTN—as well as various radio services in more than 40 languages, with the goal of strengthening China’s media influence on a global scale. CMG plays a strategic role in unifying the national narrative, producing large-scale cultural and political programs, and advancing China’s soft power through international cooperation and multilingual content.In addition, CMG holds exclusive broadcasting rights for various international sports events and continues to invest in digital media and e-sports.

Main Objective

01

Disseminate the Chinese government’s official propaganda

02

Integrate and manage national broadcasting media

03

Develop broadcasting technology and new digital media

04

Conduct cultural and information diplomacy

Project Overview

Background

China Media Group (CMG), officially known as 中央广播电视总台, is recognized as the largest and most influential national broadcasting institution in China. With the ambition to expand its global audience reach—particularly in Southeast Asian markets such as Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia—CMG aims to implement a comprehensive strategy to achieve this goal, with a core focus on enhancing audience awareness.First, we ensure that all distributed content undergoes strategic localization (subtitling and dubbing) to improve accessibility and comprehension for international audiences. Second, to maximize exposure, CMG’s content is promoted extensively across both digital and non-digital public media channels. Finally, to ensure that future programming aligns more closely with the expectations of local markets, we actively gather feedback from local audiences through recorded video testimonials in each target country.

Objective

01

Promoting Chinese Culture and Heritage in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia

02

Expanding the Global Presence of Chinese Media

03

Fostering International Cultural and Media Cooperation

Challenges

Several challenges arise in the effort to accurately distribute CMG content to Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia while improving audience retention:

01

Low Audience Awareness:

As this is the first launch, many target audiences are not yet familiar with the content offered by China’s national broadcaster. This is partly because audiences are accustomed to a wide variety of international content, such as from the West, Korea, and local productions. Therefore, a stronger promotional approach is needed to highlight unique values that can attract greater audience interest.

02

Efficiency and Accuracy:

The short timeline to execute and complete the Scope of Work (SOW) demands high efficiency and precision in delivery.

Solution

Subtitle and Dubbing

Localization is a crucial step to ensure that content is well-received by our target audiences in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Therefore, we offer subtitle and dubbing solutions to bridge language barriers, making the messages in our content easier for local viewers to understand and enjoy. This approach not only enhances viewing comfort but also strengthens emotional connections, drives engagement, and creates greater opportunities for Chinese content to compete on a global scale.

Objectives of Subtitles and Dubbing:

Remove Language Barriers: Adapt the language style to align with the preferences of the target audience.
Enhance Viewing Comfort and Experience: Adjust tone, intonation, and speech tempo so that it does not feel “foreign” to local viewers. Subtitles are designed with size, color, and display duration that are comfortable across different screens.
Expand Audience Reach: Customize content formats and technical standards for each local platform, such as national TV and OTT streaming services, to ensure easy integration.
Increase Audience Loyalty: Deliver content information through localization methods that make it easy to understand, fostering long-term audience loyalty.

Solution

PR Strategy

To maximize content exposure, we ensure the presence of the documentary films across a wide range of news outlets and digital platforms. This approach allows us to reach broader audiences while building enthusiasm and public awareness of the content. Some of the key successful placements include:

Cambodia: TVK, Coolita, Jianhua Daily, The Cambodia China Times, Huashang Daily, and others.
Malaysia: Coolita, 8TV, TV9, Bernama, Berita Harian Online, and others.
Vietnam: VTV Cable, and others.

Objectives of PR Strategy:

Maximize content exposure: Ensuring that audiences from various segments (TV viewers, news readers, and digital users) are effectively reached.
Broaden and localize audience reach: Coverage in major media such as 8TV and TVK not only extends overall reach but also connects more directly with local audiences in each country. Meanwhile, presence in Mandarin-language media such as Huashang Daily strategically targets the Chinese communities across Southeast Asia, aligning with the nature of the content.
Enhance content credibility: Placement in national and official media builds stronger reputation and fosters greater trust among local audiences.

Solution

Gathering Local Audience Feedback

Through structured feedback collection and audience interaction, we gain valuable insights into viewer preferences, emotional responses, and areas for enhancement. This approach enables us to refine our clients’ content supplies, adapt their content to cultural nuances, and ensure our clients’ contents resonate effectively with targeted markets. These insights will also allow us to make future screenings in local markets more optimised, efficient, and aligned with audience expectations.