A Study Of IPTV In Rural China: Applications, Demands, And Developments

Located in Henan province, Gongyi is the first county that trialed IPTV in China. Taking Gongyi as a typical case, this study targets the impacts and developments of IPTV in rural regions to analyze the procedure of modernization under a"communication and modernization"perspective. Based on the theories proposed by Daniel Lerner, Everett M. Rogers, Alex Inkeles, CHEN Chongshan, SUN Wusan etc., this study adopted the method of quantitative researches to explore the key factors and their potencies that effect IPTV application and demands, in this case, opens a window for rural modernization study in China.The key findings are as follows: First,"pragmatic function"of IPTV application is a significant determinant to format"attitudinal modernity". It means that the more IPTV access and the more demand-direction weighs on pragmatic function, relates to the higher attitudinal modernity. Therefore, the government and operators in IPTV markets may further research and develop the services on"pragmatic function"as part of the campaign to enhance the peasants'modernization. Second,"remote technology performance"strengthens the"attitudinal modernity"."Remote technology performance"is an intermediate factor for users and IPTV. Most operations related with"pragmatic function"rely on"remote technology performance". The finding suggests that the innovative diffusion of new media relies on advanced technologies, while individual modernity is better achieved with easy adoption of technologies and convenient access to new media. Third, the multiple linear regressions indicate that"gender"and"family income"do not play important role in the equation of"attitudinal modernity". The results show that"attitudinal modernity"cannot be promoted by the rising of income. However, key factors that influence"attitudinal modernity"such as"self-efficacy","behavioral pattern"and"information acquisition"call for the adjustment of government.Furthermore, the comparative study between IPTV users in Gongyi and in Shanghai is conducted. Big differences of IPTV applications and demands between the two districts were found. Based on the qualitative research, this study analyzes two generators—"content unbalance"and"interest unbalance"that cause the unbalanced development of IPTV industry in urban and rural China.All in all, this dissertation proposes a new perspective for IPTV development that is defined as"dual system integration of IPTV industry in urban and rural China", by which IPTV industry is suggested to be taken as a public service in rural regions but as a commercial service in urban regions until the process of urbanization in China is completed.