Once a Career Prize, China’s Local TV Stations Are Now in Free Fall

Delayed wages, shuttered channels, and vanishing audiences reflect how financial strain and digital media have hollowed out state broadcasters.

News coverage at the Great Hall of the People shows Chinese leader Xi Jinping (C), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center R), Russian President Vladimir Putin (center L), and other leaders arriving at Tiananmen Square for a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2025. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

For decades, landing a job at a local TV station in China was considered a career pinnacle—stable pay, social status, and proximity to power. Today, that world is unraveling.

Across the country, local broadcasters are shutting down channels, delaying or slashing paychecks, and quietly losing staff as China’s strained public finances and shifting propaganda priorities leave them increasingly expendable.