It’s 2026. Is there still someone who can’t turn on the TV?
Sorry, that person could be me. . .
It’s like this. I went back to my hometown once and wanted to watch CCTV 8 for my grandma. I flipped the two remote controls back and forth in my hands. After the screen turned on, I flipped through the home page, but I couldn’t find the entrance to the live TV broadcast.
At first, I thought it was because I hadn’t turned on the TV for too long and was unfamiliar. After searching online, I found that it really wasn’t all Shichao’s fault.
There are many people who go online to find tutorials because they don’t know how to turn on the TV. I’m not the only one who complains that turning on the TV is too difficult. . .
After dealing with the startup advertisement, I still have to browse through the full screen recommendations. When the set-top box is turned on, I still have to manually switch the signal source and then go to the set-top box page to find the live broadcast entrance.
Not to mention the elderly, young people may also be confused. . .
Anyway, because of this incident, Luo Yonghao spoke out more than once. Former CCTV host Zhang Zequn, who has been a TV host for so many years, also started to express his bitterness.
The good news is that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has decided to strike again.
At today’s “15th Five-Year Plan” press conference, The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has said that it will promote integrated TV and plans to insert set-top boxes directly into TVs.
This is a good thing, but Shichao wonders why it is already 2026 and making it easier for everyone to watch TV has become a problem that needs to be solved specifically?
In my impression, when I was a child, there were programs when I turned on the TV. When I turned it off, I turned it on several channels. Nowadays, the screens are getting bigger and the functions are getting more and more, but turning on the TV requires many breakthroughs.
I just want to turn on the phone and watch TV. Why do I have to make it so complicated?
Let’s talk about the conclusion first. After searching around, Shichao found that it’s really not a certain TV manufacturer that is so idle that it has to make everyone unhappy.
This may have to start with Document 181.
In 2011, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued the “Operation and Management Requirements for Institutions Holding Internet TV Licenses”, which is Document No. 181. There is a very key sentence:
The Internet TV integration platform mainly focuses on video on demand and graphic information services, and is temporarily not allowed to open technical interfaces for live broadcast services of radio and television programs.
What does it mean?
There are roughly three ways for us to watch TV, cable TV, IPTV, and Internet TV that provides video through the public Internet, which is OTT.
Cable TV uses the cable TV network of radio and television. In the past, you could watch it by just connecting a signal line. IPTV uses the operator’s private network and can also provide live TV broadcasts.
But according to regulations, Internet TV OTT will not work.
Of course, everyone has thought of some tricks to watch TV.
Even TVs can be connected to the Internet, so if I just install an app and watch CCTV, wouldn’t that be the end of it? This is why live streaming apps such as TV Home were quite popular in the past few years.
The problem is that this seemingly easiest way is not very formal. . .
In 2023, while China Radio and Television is regulating TV matryoshka charges and complex operations, it is also rectifying illegal Internet TV application software and standardizing Internet TV live broadcast business.
Then the TV station stopped serving.
After that, the regulatory authorities also required TV manufacturers to place such a “TV viewing understanding card” on packaging, e-commerce pages, offline sales and installation links.
So if you want to watch live channels such as CCTV and satellite TV in compliance with the regulations, you have to connect to IPTV or cable TV. In the past, the most common way was to get a set-top box.
Then things started to get troublesome. . . Turn on the TV once, and both systems will take care of their own business.
For TV manufacturers, the homepage is obviously not only a menu to help users find functions, but also an entrance to sustainable operations. Start-up advertising, content recommendations, application distribution, and film and television membership. . .can continue to generate revenue.
How profitable can this be?
When Xinhua News Agency investigated smart TV startup advertising in 2020, it mentioned that the startup advertising revenue of a certain smart TV manufacturer could reach 1.7 million yuan/day.
Although this is the data from that year and cannot be used to represent the present, Shichao checked TCL Electronics’ financial report. In the first half of 2026, the large-size display business revenue was HK$35.25 billion, and the Internet business revenue was HK$1.69 billion.
It’s not much in comparison, but the gross profit of the Internet business was HK$1.03 billion, with a gross profit margin of 61.1%. In comparison, the gross profit margin of TCL’s entire display business during the same period was only about 18.5%.
The revenue from Internet business is not large, but it is a very fat profit.
Moreover, advertising is not only done by TV manufacturers, but also by cable TV and IPTV.
Here is a simple popular science. IPTV is a business between radio and television and operators. Radio and television are responsible for content integration and broadcast control. Operators are responsible for networks, users and charges. The money received is divided according to the agreement.
Each household can only charge one fee for basic viewing, but on-demand and membership content such as movies, children’s, and sports can be charged separately.
Taking Guangdong as an example, Guangdong Radio and Television’s New Media Co., Ltd.’s IPTV basic business revenue in 2025 is about 830 million yuan, while IPTV value-added business revenue is 416 million yuan, which is half of the basic business revenue.
The same goes for cable TV. After digitalization, value-added services started early.
Looking back now, you will understand why watching TV is so difficult.
One screen, two groups of people doing business. Everyone is trying to squeeze in ads, but you are afraid of missing tonight’s 8 o’clock slot.
In fact, in the wave of 3 years ago, the new regulations directly set “boot into full-screen live broadcast” as the default option for cable TV and IPTV terminals.
It’s okay if you don’t want to enter the live broadcast directly. You can choose the interactive homepage yourself, but the live broadcast window must be placed in a conspicuous position. If you don’t operate it for 20 seconds, it will automatically switch back to full-screen live broadcast for you.
To put it bluntly, it is to simplify the steps as much as possible.
Including the elders model launched by many TV manufacturers, it is a similar idea. Enlarge fonts and icons, streamline pages, and set some settings in advance. You can also directly access frequently used content with one click after booting.
As for the two remote controls, they count as one if they can be combined into one.
At first, it used infrared learning to let the set-top box remote control control the TV’s power on and off and volume buttons. Later, it began to promote three-mode universal remote controls.。
The changes are really made, but the results are really slow.
On the one hand, there are too many existing devices, but more importantly, the idea of solving the problem is essentially patching the old system, treating the symptoms but not the root cause.
If you really want me to say,“Open it and watch”The best in this area，還得是Tik Tok. . .
So three years later, we can still see a lot of complaints about “Why is it so difficult to watch TV?”
Isn’t there a more thorough way?
Yes, brother, there are too.
This time, the integrated TV that is to be promoted nationwide is to put the original IPTV and cable TV into the TV in the form of software.
There is no need to connect an external set-top box or switch back to HDMI. With a TV and a remote control, you can watch live broadcasts when you turn it on.
If you have bought an old TV at home, you can replace the set-top box with a plug-in mini set-top box as big as a USB flash drive, hide it behind the TV, and equip it with a universal remote control.
A while ago, a centralized purchase announcement for integrated TV adapters was issued, with 8.18 million sets.
As for how much it can be rolled out in the end and how the actual experience will be, it’s really hard to say now.
But at the very least, don’t let me go back and forth between the original two systems.
Shichao does not object to TVs becoming more and more intelligent, but the original starting point has never changed – I just want to watch TV.
撰文：西西
美編：煥妍
State Administration of Radio and Television, China Tendering and Tendering Public Service Platform
