Refutation of the article "SARFT leaders ask why we need to adapt to the Internet"

Yesterday, Xie Lirong, who signed as "Caijing Eleven", published an article titled " The Death of TV APP: The Leader of SARFT Asks Why We Should Adapt to the Internet ". The article directly pointed out the series of policies adopted by SARFT for Internet TV, and implicitly satirized SARFT's "closed" and "strong regulatory" attitude.

As soon as this article came out, it caused a huge uproar. Weibo and WeChat followed suit with endless criticism. Netizens even compiled a special "complaint" collection. Classmate Fu Liang asked me on Weibo: "Do you know which leader said this?" I replied that the author of this article couldn't even distinguish between the Radio and Television Bureau and the Radio and Television Network. The Radio and Television Bureau is a government management agency, and the Radio and Television Network is an operating company. The reporter either made a mistake in the tongue or a mistake in the pen. Another classmate asked, is there any difference between the two? I could only laugh.

In addition, a student with the Weibo ID "wearbug天下" said: "No matter right or wrong, someone should speak from the position of the General Administration." I said, if some people don't understand, there is no need to explain it to them. Many people's scolding is just following the trend. They don't know what they are scolding. They just need to vent their dissatisfaction in reality on the Internet. My buddy said that I thought too much. I said, after so many insults, none of them hit the point. It's just abuse and slander. Do you need to fight with gangsters? What if you win? It takes time to guide public opinion. Besides, this is not public opinion, it is a disease. Just do your own thing steadily. "wearbug天下" replied: "The truth becomes clearer through debate." So this article was written. Welcome to communicate with the author.

As a strategic consulting company for the integration of three networks, we have extensive contacts and communications with the leaders of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the Telecommunications Administration, the State Information Office, various telecom operators and Internet companies, and we have a relatively good understanding of the reasons behind it. First of all, let me introduce and define the protagonist of "The Death of TV APP: The Leader of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television Asks Why We Should Adapt to the Internet" (hereinafter referred to as the article) to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding. If you don't even bother to figure this out, you don't need to read on.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is an agency directly under the State Council led by the Central Propaganda Department. It is responsible for the supervision, guidance and management of the radio and television industry. The Deputy Minister of the Central Propaganda Department concurrently serves as the Director of the General Administration. It is clear, the General Administration is the government. Don't take bean buns as dry food. The various management regulations issued by the General Administration are policies and regulations, and are the embodiment of the central will. In the past, telecommunications was telecommunications, and radio and television were radio and television, and they kept to themselves. Although there have been ideas and plans for the integration of the three networks, it was eventually terminated due to socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is an end, not a suspension. With the development of communication technology, the new media spawned by new technologies belong to the regulatory gap between the two. It has been in a blank without government management, and has grown wildly and developed disorderly. Until the establishment of the State Information Office, the Deputy Minister of the Central Propaganda Department concurrently served as the Director of the State Information Office, and finally unified the management.

The radio and television network, which was once one of the protagonists of the three-network integration, was differentiated from local cable television stations. The channels and programs were merged into wireless television stations, which are now radio and television stations. The transmission network part became an independent company and was almost managed by the then Ministry of Information Industry and the seven major telecom operators. It was urgently stopped due to a safety broadcast accident in a certain place, and continued to be used as a dedicated network for radio and television transmission, with one operation in each place and local management. Because it was established by the central, provincial, municipal, and county levels of radio and television, its property rights and operations are different. At most, there were more than a thousand corporate operating units. Now they have been gradually integrated into 31 provincial companies, and there are still provincial TV stations holding shares. Some have raised funds and gone public, some are preparing to go public, and some cannot go public and are still integrating within the province.

The television stations that hold controlling stakes in these provincial radio and television networks are directly affiliated institutions of the province, led by the provincial party committee, and have no relationship with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, except for accepting industry supervision, guidance and management from the Administration.

After reading this, some comrades should understand. As for whether the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has embraced and adapted to the Internet, I will give you a number. The Administration has approved more than 1,000 Internet companies to carry out "information network video services", including Youku Tudou, LeTV, Sohu, iQiyi, etc., requiring licensed units to carry out computer-oriented Internet video services in accordance with the law; the Administration has issued 10 mobile video service licenses, and licensed units have cooperated with the three major operators to obtain billions of mobile video service revenue each year; the Administration has issued 14 Internet TV content integration licenses and 7 Internet TV integrated broadcast control licenses to regulate television access to the Internet; the Administration has approved CCTV and Shanghai Radio and Television to provide IPTV content to broadband users of China Telecom and China Unicom, either individually or in the name of a joint venture company. Nearly 3,000 domestic radio and television institutions have successively opened websites, Weibo, WeChat service accounts and various clients, and directly or indirectly provide audio-visual program content for the Internet...

The General Administration has not adapted to the Internet? The background of this statement is that since this spring, the General Administration has introduced a series of measures to regulate the Internet TV market. You see, it is regulation, not "banning"! TV apps have been removed from the shelves one after another. Why are TV apps removed from the shelves? As early as 2011, the General Administration issued Document No. 181, stipulating that Internet access devices with TVs as display terminals must be connected to the Internet through the broadcast control platform and must not be directly connected to the Internet. Why do they do this? Because TVs are public devices and family screens, PCs, Pads, and Phones are personal. You can use them to chat with your lover on Weibo and WeChat and watch videos. However, TVs are shared by a family (of course, except for those who are "destined to be alone" without parents, spouses, or children). Information services facing multiple people are broadcasting, and broadcasting must be included in management.

What did the TV APP do? A third-party application store that has not been reviewed by the broadcast control can be downloaded and installed, and after installation, the software can directly access the server IP address built into the software. Who is managing this server? What is the security level of the server? What is the moral responsibility of the manager? The hacking of Wenzhou Cable only happened in a few urban areas, while the boxes and APPs are distributed all over the country. Once they are hacked or used by others...

Since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, the Central Committee has set up a deep reform group, with the General Secretary personally serving as the group leader. A special network security group has also been set up, with the General Secretary serving as the group leader. Two deputy ministers of the Central Propaganda Department have concurrently served as the director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and the director of the State Information Office. Some bad practices on the Internet and Weibo have been corrected. As the broadcasting and television with the widest coverage and the greatest influence have always taken safe broadcasting as the bottom line, but the corresponding television and Internet have been managed by a dual-track system, and some bad tendencies on the Internet have spread to television.

This is the direct reason why the General Administration has taken action to regulate Internet TV. The 14 content integration license operating companies and seven integrated broadcast control license operating companies approved by the General Administration have already and are welcoming cooperation with Internet companies. Some companies are rectifying their previous mistakes, and some companies, such as China Radio and Television, Happy Sunshine and Youpengpule, are accelerating their development. There are still 150 million households with both TV and broadband but no boxes. Users have needs, boxes are still being released, and content is constantly updated. China Mobile will release 50 million terminals in the next two years and focus on broadband. What are you still frustrated about? What are you pessimistic about?

There were no roads in the world originally, but when more people walked on them, roads were formed. Where there are roads, there are traffic lights, lanes and zebra crossings. The rules are for everyone to participate and compete fairly. Of course, they will also cause complaints from car thieves and road bullies who cross the road indiscriminately. Many of my friends were rectified and persuaded to withdraw from the business in this governance, and many investments went down the drain. I am also very sad and sympathetic. I have been saying and reminding people at large and small meetings that in China, the media is regulated. Maybe the truth may be unpleasant to the ears, but I still want to say, "Starting a business is risky, so consult before entering the industry."

Having said so much, do you think it still needs to be refuted?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.