China’s state broadcaster has turned to French authorities in a bid to regain its right to broadcast in Europe, after a UK regulator revoked its licence to air earlier this month.
The Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel, the French media watchdog, confirmed that it was approached by the broadcaster in December. But it declined to say when it would be able to establish whether China Global Television Network transmits to satellite from a ground station in France and falls under the country’s jurisdiction.
The watchdog said that “additional analysis” would be necessary after the ruling by UK media regulator Ofcom, which stripped the network of its licence to air after concluding that it was editorially controlled by the Chinese Communist party.