Did not expect this to be picked up by HN. I watched the 820 drama on weibo live, it never surprises me how low-class CCTV can be. As of the reason why CCTV is

Did not expect this to be picked up by HN. I watched the 820 drama on weibo live, it never surprises me how low-class CCTV can be. As of the reason why CCTV is suddenly after Apple, I saw this chart[1] on weibo, which could shed some lights on the situation. It reveals a detailed breakdown of Apple's TV advertising spending in China. It seems Apple put the lion share of their budget on provincial TV channels (the blue area on the pie charts) instead of CCTV - the supposedly most watched TV channel in the country. Also, I would like to offer some knowledge of CCTV's mob-like operations. CCTV has been falling out of favor for both viewers and advertisers. It failed to innovate and offer shows/programs people care to watch; when it falls behind in the marketplace, the state sponsored monopoly would wield its political power and paint competitions politically incorrect labels (Eg. accusing other channels' shows being 'vulgar', 'reactionary' etc..). This has happened a few times with popular shows on provincial channels. Typically, CCTV do not organize similar massive campaigns to defame its clients; but there's always an exception once a year: the 3-15 annual gala. Every March 15th, CCTV points fingers to companies 'who severely violates consumer rights', exposing industry scandals and unethical businesses. The 3-15 show has its popularity, as consumers frequently fall victim to the wide range of unethical (sometimes outright illegal) behaviors prevailing the Chinese corporate world. CCTV is the only media outlet who has the political capital to make such nationwide accusations without fearing consequences. Therefore, it is not surprising CCTV leverages this show to send a warning message to its current and potential clients: "we can easily make you or break you, do your advertising with us or watch your brand destroyed next year." It has been a known fact that CCTV uses 3-15 as a tool to punish the 'not-so-well-behaved' advertisers and hold Chinese companies at their hostage to maximize their advertising revenue. Clearly, Apple has been categorized as one of those bad boys this year, and CCTV decided it needed a lesson. [1]http://photo.weibo.com/1401318455/wbphotos/large/photo_id/3556254762965374?refer=weibofeedv5 http://photo.weibo.com/1401318455/wbphotos/large/photo_id/35...