Annual report says AI, tech reshaping sector with 78% internet penetration.

The Chinese media has published its 2024 annual report with details of how the industry fared and what the future would look like.

The 64-page detailed report contained extensive research intelligence that guides the drive of the sector.

From the revenue, human capacity, workforce, tech adaptability contents and focus, the sector in China, one of the countries with a very vibrant and vast media industry, the year in focus experienced growth and leaps.

The document titled: Development of China’s News Media, 2024, annual reports compiled by the “All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) to objectively present the scene of China’s news media industry to press practitioners in other countries” was availed us on December 30, 2024.

The document highlighted that the media sector experienced an economic leap with revenue growth of 8.31% to a total income of RMB3.15 trillion, or about US$500 billion.

Also highlighted by the report, China’s internet consumption volume reached 1.1 billion people, a little less than the population of Africa. This figure also represents a growth of 7.42 million between December 2023 and June 2024, and a total of 78 percent national internet penetration.

Due to the penetration and adaptability of technology to media practice, the annual report indicated that: In recent years, generative AI has been driving the paradigm shift of news content production and iteratively upgrading the business forms of journalism and communication. China’s news media industry has entered the stage of deepening integration with digital and intelligent technologies, and become increasingly data-driven, intelligent, integrated, platform-based, and socialized. The effectiveness of the omni-media communication system has been comprehensively improved.”

Because China is a global powerhouse in the ICT trend, its media sector is not exempt from the rave of sweep by tech-driven innovations.

From the traditional to the new, internet-based social media and the adaptation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) even as reporters, editors, news processors and producers, and the integrated media, the Chinese news sector is all neck-deep in the new order.

According to the report: “With the rapid development of China’s Internet industry, various media at all levels have been leveraging Internet platforms to improve their quality and efficiency, enhance the effect of omni-media communication, adjust the production and consumption structure, and shape their characteristics through “brand columns + features,” while empowering industry growth with AI technology. According to the 54th China Statistical Report on Internet Development, as of June 2024, the number of Internet users in China was close to 1.1 billion, an increase of 7.42 million from December 3, 2023, and the Internet penetration rate reached 78.0%. As of May 2024, there were 3,606 Internet news information service units, providing 14,228 licensed services, including 1,912 Internet sites, 3,294 applications, and 8,862 public accounts.”

Newspaper circulation

The document revealed that “In 2023, newspapers across China recorded a total of 26.01 billion copies printed, amounting to 69.37 billion printed pages; the total subscription value was 35.57 billion yuan, with 325,000 issues published and an annual distribution of 25.84 billion copies.

The 2,168 newspaper publishing entities nationwide collectively published 2,405 distinct newspaper titles, offering a diverse range of categories that covered all aspects of economic, social, and cultural development, catering to readers’ multifaceted needs.

There were 1,599 general newspapers, 109 broadcast and television newspapers, and 697 university campus newspapers. Among the general newspapers, there were 490 Party-affiliated newspapers, 318 regional city newspapers, such as evening papers and urban dailies, 585 specialized newspapers on such themes as economics, industry, agriculture, healthcare, broadcasting, and arts, 71 lifestyle and service-oriented newspapers covering health and consumer.”

Radio and television

By the end of 2023, there were more than 50,000 institutions providing radio, television, and online audiovisual services across the country, including 2,521 radio and television broadcasting institutions. There were 2,099 county-level radio and television broadcasting institutions (including radio and television stations and county-level converged media centers)

Radio and television program production continued to flourish. In 2023, 156 TV dramas, 199 online dramas, 329 online movies, 507 online cartoons, 557 key online short dramas, 345 TV cartoons, and 4329 documentaries produced by provincial-level stations were released.

According to the statistics of “China Audiovisual Big Data” (CVB), in 2023, 467,000 hours of TV programs were broadcast on the national satellite channels, including 65,000 hours of news programs whose total audience reach rate was 90.99% and the average daily viewing time per household was 44.2 minutes, claiming the largest audience size of all types of programs. In 2023, high-quality TV dramas continued to appear and covered a wide range of themes, with 893 TV dramas broadcast by China Media Group (CMG) and local satellite TV stations, a year-on-year increase of 1.6%, and an annual broadcast time of 151,000 hours, with a total audience reach rate of 90.84%, and the average daily viewing time of 73.8 minutes per household.

Service quality

Nearly all the users of 285 million cable TV and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) terminals across the country can now turn on the TV to watch full-screen live broadcasts immediately. The charging package is more than halved, and the charging process is more simplified transparent, and better regulated. The cable TV network offers “Classics” free of charge. IPTV and over-the-top television (OTT TV) greatly increased high-quality free content; cable TV and IPTV canceled boot advertising, regulated

Revenue

From the report, it was evident that the digital drive is benefiting the Chinese media in multi-dimensional ways, especially revenue earnings. “The total output value of China’s media industry reached 3.15 trillion yuan in 2023, reflecting an 8.38% year-on-year growth. Revenue streams in the newspaper, radio, and broadcasting industries were shifting from traditional channels to a more diversified structure that includes digital advertising and multi-source income generation,” it revealed.

In 2023, total revenue for newspapers nationwide amounted to RMB61.66 billion, comprising RMB16.92 billion from advertising, RMB21.81 billion from circulation, and RMB6.01 billion from new media operations.

The total profit for newspapers reached RMB6.64 billion, marking a 9.4% year-on-year increase. According to the Report, the share of advertising revenue dropped from 38.5% in the previous year to 35.6%, new media revenue’s share declined from 23.6% to 18.6%, and circulation revenue’s share fell by 5.1 percentage points. In contrast, revenue from diversified operations saw a notable rise, increasing from 13.9% to 27%

Radio, and TV improved revenue

The revenue of the national radio and television broadcast industry continued to grow. In 2023, the total revenue of the national radio and television and online audiovisual industry was RMB1.412 billion, up 13.74% year-on-year; the actual revenue of radio and television broadcast and online audiovisual business was RMB1.221 billion, up 14.47%. The advertising revenue was RMB343.536 billion yuan, up 2.78%.

International exchanges and cooperation

Industry organizations and competent authorities actively promoted international exchanges among news media professionals. The ACJA held the Belt and Road Journalists Forum, joint interviews and training activities, the China-CEEC Journalists Roundtable, and the China-Mongolia Media Forum. It received dozens of foreign press delegations visiting China; organized Chinese press delegations to visit several foreign countries; and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Polish Media Association.

Since 2023, cutting-edge technologies such as generative AI have rapidly developed in China, giving rise to a wave of localized large language models (LLMs). According to the AIGC Panorama Report of Application in China, the market size of generative AI applications in China is projected to reach RMB20 billion in 2024 and exceed one trillion yuan by 2030.

Research input

The Report itemised a breakdown of inputs in research and indicated that China’s mainstream media are increasingly focusing on and investing in the AIGC sector. By organizing and pooling resources through professional and specialized frameworks and leveraging their extensive film, television, andmusic assets, they are exploring diversified collaboration models, pooling resources, and promoting the integrated application of AI technologies in traditional media.

Workforce

Even though the inroads of AI and other tech have been massive and overwhelming in the Chinese media sector, the industry has not underplayed the overarching importance of human capacity growth and deepening. Its data on human resource and manpower growth, advancement, and expansion underscores its awareness that human beings are the engine that moves the processes.

It reported that: “A growing cohort of highly educated, professional, and digital talent still dominate the industry. In 2023, the newspaper publishing industry hired a workforce of 184,000, marking a slight increase for the third consecutive year following 2021 and 2022, with an average of 78.9 people per newspaper, a year-on-year increase of 2.3%.