CCTV channels
# CCTV channels

Broadcast since 1 May 1958, China Central Television (CCTV) has 17 channels plus an additional five channels in different languages broadcast from China and across the globe. All CCTV channels are broadcast around the world through satellite broadcast and on Internet television. The CCTV channels are listed below in sequential order with no discerning descriptions, e.g. CCTV-1, CCTV-2, etc.

## Television channels

The following is a list of CCTV channels and their specializations:

* CCTV-1 - General
* CCTV-1 (HK & Macau edition)
* CCTV-2 - Finance
* CCTV-3 - Variety
* CCTV-4 - International (in Mandarin Chinese)
* CCTV-5 - Sports
* CCTV-5+ - Sports Plus (broadcast in HD)
* CCTV-6 - Movies
* CCTV-7 - National Defense and Military
* CCTV-8 - Television Drama
* CCTV-9 - Documentary (in Mandarin Chinese)
* CCTV-10 - Science and Education
* CCTV-11 - Chinese Opera
* CCTV-12 - Society and Law
* CCTV-13 - News (in Mandarin Chinese)
* CCTV-14 - Children
* CCTV-15 - Music
* CCTV-16 - Olympics (launched on 25 October 2021, broadcast in HD and 4K UHD)
* CCTV-17 - Agriculture and Rural
* CCTV-4K - 4K UHD programmes
* CCTV-8K - 8K UHD programmes
* CGTN - international (in English)
* CGTN French - international (in French)
* CGTN Spanish - international (in Spanish)
* CGTN Arabic - international (in Arabic)
* CGTN Russian - international (in Russian)
* CGTN Documentary - documentary (in English)
* CCTV Home Shopping

Pay channels (all are broadcasting in HD):

* CCTV-Billiards
* CCTV-Cultural Features
* CCTV-Golf and Tennis
* CCTV-Hygiene and Healthy
* CCTV-Nostalgia Theater
* CCTV-Storm Football
* CCTV-Storm Music
* CCTV-Storm Theater
* CCTV-The First Theater
* CCTV-TV Guide
* CCTV-Weapon Technology
* CCTV-Women's Fashion
* CCTV-World Geography

CCTV was one of the six participants of China 3D TV Test Channel (Chinese: 中国3D电视试验频道, already closed), a television channel broadcasting various digital 3D television content.

All CCTV channels are also broadcast through the following:

* LiveStream (TM) - 24/7 non-stop online continuous broadcasting facility
* Stream Vision (TM) - 24/7 non-stop online continuous broadcasting facility
* CybersatelliteDirect
* Universe Satellite Network
* GalaxySatellite (TM)
* plus an additional 10+ advanced integration satellite providers if possible

## International broadcasts

It is possible to receive channels CCTV-4 (Mandarin channel targeted at an overseas Chinese audience), CGTN (targeting an English-speaking audience), CGTN Spanish (in Spanish) and CGTN French (in French) outside China by using a Digital Video Broadcast signal (plus additional broadcast support together with Dolby Stereo, Dolby Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital Advanced Sound Quality Definition and Improvement System Support, technologized and developed by Dolby Laboratories, Datasat, and the SDDS for digital audio system supportments). CCTV has just recently switched from analog to DVB primarily due to better signal quality and the ability to charge for reception (about US$10 per year subscription). The overseas channels are widely available across many cable and satellite providers.

CCTV-4 was officially relaunched by the split into three television channels on Monday, 1 January 2007 at 00:00 CST in order to improve service for audiences around the world.

* CCTV-4 Asia (中文國際頻道亞洲版) - broadcasts to Asia and Australasia from Singapore at 00:00 SST
* CCTV-4 Europe (中文國際頻道歐洲版) - broadcasts to Europe from London at 00:00 GMT
* CCTV-4 America (中文國際頻道美洲版) - broadcasts to North America and Latin America from New York City at 00:00 EST

On 25 July 2009, CCTV launched its Arabic-language international channel, stating that it aims to maintain stronger links with Arabic nations and that the new channel would "serve as an important bridge to strengthen communication and understanding between China and Arab countries". The Arabic channel targets the Middle East, North Africa and Asia region. On 10 September 2009, CCTV launched a Russian-language channel, CCTV-Русский. All five foreign language channels were rebranded under the China Global Television Network (CGTN) brand at the end of 2016.

