In spite of rapidly growing online media, TV is still the largest medium in China.

According to Yin Hong, executive vice president of Tsinghua University’s school of journalism, Chinese audiences spend about 175 minutes every day watching TV, much more than the time spent on other media. Besides, TV reachesup to 97 percent of the audience in China, which shows the special status of TV in the country.

While CCTV, the stateowned news broadcaster, holds the leading position in the advertising market in China, with around 75 percent of the market share at present, said Li Guangdou, head of Beijing-based brand consultancy Wondersee.

In the first half of 2012, the average growth rate of the advertising industry was 4.2 percent, while TV advertising was a bit above average at 4.7 percent. However, the annual growth in advertising revenue for CCTV has remained above 12 percent over the past 5 years.

In particular, CCTV’s prime-time program Xinwen Lianbo (National News Report) is one of the most attractive times for companies:a“19 o’clock time giving” slot divided into 6 units (each for two months)has attracted a total of 1.06 billion yuan during the most recent auction.While in 2012, the same slot was worth only 656 million yuan.

Gome (00493.HK), the second largest home appliance retailer in China became the dark horse bidder, obtaining the most important spot in January and February, covering New Year’s Day and Chinese Spring Festival this year with 215 million yuan. The other five units were taken by two liquor giants: Wuliangye (499 million yuan for 3 units) and Moutai (352 million yuan for 2 units).

CCTV’s advertising auction is generally considered a barometer for China’s domestic economy. The record high bidding for prime-time advertising shows confidence of companies in the Chinese economy next year.

However, the huge TV industry is supported by advertising. Of the over 200 billion yuanof radio and television revenue in China at present, over 50 percent is from advertising, added Yin Hong, though large amounts of advertisement suffered from many critiques, that they should guarantee that Chinese audiences can watch TV programs for free.

Experts warned of a slowdown of ad revenues for TV stations as TV advertisement is facing challenges from new media. The TV advertisement sector grew only about 4.7 percent during the first half of this year, said Li Guangdou, but online ads grew over 40 percent during the same period.