China's media industry grows at 19 percent

The market scale of China's media industry was 1.6 trillion yuan ($232 billion) in 2016, up by 19.1 percent year-on-year, a new report said, making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the country.

The report was prepared by scholars in the field of media and communication, led by Cui Baoguo, the deputy dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University.

The market scale is projected to exceed 2 trillion yuan in 2018, Cui said at the release of the report in Beijing on Sunday.

The growth of media and advertisement over mobile internet is the main driver of the industry.

More than 60 percent of the 731 million Chinese internet users only read news on handheld gadgets in 2016, the report said, citing China Internet Network Information Center figures in January.

Meanwhile, the report found that the publishing industry, including newspapers, magazines and periodicals, remained sluggish — the annual growth rate remained at about 1.5 percent.

The report consists of separate chapters on segments of the industry, such as films, TV and radio broadcasting.

It also includes a brief summary of the media industries overseas, namely the United States, Britain, Russia, France, Japan and South Korea.

The Report on Development of China's Media Industry has been publishing annually since 2003.