LONDON — Britain’s broadcasting regulator said on Thursday that it had withdrawn the license for China Global Television Network, an international news channel owned by a Chinese state broadcaster, to operate in the country in part because its political affiliation violates broadcasting laws.
License holders must have editorial oversight over their content and cannot be controlled by political bodies, and the regulator, Ofcom, said the outlet failed on both counts.
An investigation showed that the channel’s license holder, Star China Media Limited, did not have oversight of CGTN’s programming. The regulator also said that attempts to transfer the license to a corporation under the CGTN name had failed because it was “ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which is not permitted under U.K. broadcasting law.”
Ofcom said it had given CGTN, which is owned by a media group controlled by the Communist Party, “significant time” to comply with rules. “We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the license for CGTN to broadcast in the UK.”
