TDM extending program exchange between China and Portuguese-language broadcasters

A program exchange scheme between Portuguese-language broadcasters and China’s state television is being further extended beyond the Asia-Pacific.

Through a program sharing agreement between TDM in Macau and TVM in Mozambique, TDM will serve as a middleman between China Central Television and the Mozambican broadcaster, subtitling CCTV programs from Chinese to Portuguese before forwarding them to its African partner.

Joao Francisco Pinto, TDM’s Portuguese News and Program Controller said they had similar partnerships with TV stations elsewhere in the Portuguese-speaking world, such as Guinea Bissau in West Africa and Timor Leste in Southeast Asia, and they are working on establishing new ones in Angola and the Atlantic Ocean Republic of Cape Verde.

He said Macau’s public broadcaster had acquired the rights for CCTV’s documentaries, allowing TDM to subtitle them into Portuguese and make them available free of charge to Portuguese language broadcasters in Africa, Asia and South America.

“The agreement covers only documentaries and news items produced by TDM,” he said. “But the agreement allows also for TVM programs to be sent to Macau for broadcast by TDM.”

Armindo Chavana Junior, Chairman of the TVM Board, said Televisão de Moçambique would make available TV Programs about their social, cultural and economic life.

“We produce a total of 18 hours of local content every day and around 70 per cent of what we broadcast is produced by us,” Sr Chavana said. “We have a lot of content to show to Macau audiences.”

TDM Executive Director Frederico do Rosario added that Teledifusão de Macau would also subtitle TVM programs into Chinese and make them available to a number of mainland China broadcasters with whom they have cooperation agreements.

The agreement was signed on behalf of TDM by Leong Kam Chun, Chairman of TDM’s Executive Committee.