CNTV & Xiaomi sign a deal on live streaming

State broadcaster China Network Television (CNTV) has formed a partnership with Beijing’s Xiaomi Technology Co., maker of a device that allows people to put streamed Internet video content on their TVs.

The move comes two months after the company had its streaming device, the Xiaomi Box banned by the state broadcasting regulator, caixin.com reports.

Xiaomi said that it signed a strategic partnership agreement with iCNTV, a subsidiary of CNTV, a national web-based TV broadcaster whose parent company is CCTV.

The deal will allow Xiaomi to stream some of the state broadcaster’s popular content.

Pilot sales of the Xiaomi Box will start in Shanghai; Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province; and Changsha, Hunan Province.

Xiaomi and iCNTV also plan to launch search, interactive and online payment services this year, iCNTV General Manager Zhang Yuxia said. iCNTV has nearly 10 million online users.