Triple play, OTT TV, and the Chinese logic of “select commercialization”

Abstract

This article unravels the evolution of the Chinese OTT TV and triple-network convergence in the larger context of global media and communication policy. The balancing act between market innovation and content gatekeeping has led State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the regulator of the broadcast sector, to subjugate the relevant players of OTT TV and triple play to “select commercialization,” a logic that inevitably led to convoluted policy configurations. The authors pursue a market power analysis that lays bare the competing and/or collaborative relationships between multiple actors in China’s online TV value chain, that is, cable broadcasters, telecom operators, Internet companies, OTT licensees, and smart TV makers. The article ends with a proposition that the future of the Chinese online TV industry is increasingly organized as an ecosystem economy.