China Central Television (CCTV) is the national TV network of the People's Republic of China. Formerly known as Beijing Television before May 1, 1978, the television station began broadcasting on September 2, 1958 and offered PAL-D color TV programs in 1973. 

CCTV has 12 channels, broadcasting 240 hours of programs per day, 76.5% of which are self-developed. The coverage of CCTV-1 reaches over 90% of the total population of China, with the number of regular viewers exceeding 1.1 billion.

CCTV broadcasts programs in Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Cantonese and the Southern Min Dialect. CCT-4 (Chinese International Channel) and CCTV-9 (English Channel) serve the entire globe.

CCTV has established business cooperation with 237 television networks in more than 140 countries. Furthermore, CCTV has set up reporter stations in Washington, Brussels, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Macao.

CCTV has adopted new techniques and means to develop popular programs. This includes the conversion to digital in the fall of 2002 for North American CCTV-4 coverage.

CCTV has become a window for China to know more about the world and the world to get a better understanding of China.