The central government's broadcasting regulator said early today that it has banned BBC World Service from the country for what state media described as "serious content violations", and Hong Kong government-owned RTHK has consequently decided to drop its live relay of the broadcaster.
The ban by the regulator in Beijing comes amid a UK-China dispute over the British state-owned broadcaster's reporting about Xinjiang, and follows a decision by the the UK's broadcasting regulator to cancel the licence of CGTN.
CGTN, formerly known as CCTV-9 and CCTV News, is an international English-language news channel based in Beijing and owned by state-owned broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).
Xinhua quoted the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) as saying: "As the channel fails to meet the requirements to broadcast in China as an overseas channel, BBC World News is not allowed to continue its service within Chinese territory.
"The NRTA will not accept the channel's broadcast application for the new year."
In a statement, RTHK said it would stop relaying the BBC World Service from 11 p.m. today. The live relay used to run from 11 p.m. every night until 7 a.m. the following day.
English-language BBC World News is not included in most television channel packages in the mainland but is available in some hotels and private homes.
Observers described Beijng's decision as a classical "tit-for-tat" move common in international relations.
The London-based British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a statutory corporation with a royal charter.
In Macau, BBC News is one of the channels provided by Macau Cable TV (MCTV), which operates its pay-TV service under a licence granted by the local government.
- RTHK, MPD
