China OKs 247 firms for online video business
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities gave the green light to a number of firms to run online video-sharing services, after ordering dozens of firms to halt operations earlier this year.
The State Administration of Radio Film and Television listed 247 license holders for Internet video service in a shortlist on its website www.sarft.gov.cn, most of which are TV stations.
Wholly state-owned media, including Xinhua news agency, People's Daily and China Central Television, make up the majority of the list, some do not currently offer online video content. A string of local news portals, including Sina.com, Sohu.com Inc, NetEase and Tencent Holdings have been granted licenses to provide video content.
Tudou.com, one of China's most popular video sites, which received a warning and suspended operation in March, is not on the shortlist.
Chinese authorities in March ordered 25 video-sharing Web sites to halt operations and issued warnings to dozens of others, in a move to tighten the grip on online content.
China overtook the United States this year to become the world's biggest Internet market by users. It had 221 million Web users by the end of February, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre. Venture capital firms have poured into China's Internet sector, but a lack of clarity over policies and uncertainty over how strictly they would be enforced has left the industry confused.
(Reporting by Michael Wei; Editing by Louise Heavens)
