Xia Xiaohui, deputy general manager of China Network Television (CNTV), revealed during an Internet economy development forum in the Yangtze River Delta that CNTV.cn and CCTV.com will be merged at the end of May 2010 and CCTV.com will become a sub-brand of CNTV.cn.

According to Xia, with the merger of the two websites, both of their domain names will lead to CNTV.cn. At present, many contents on CCTV.com have already had links to CNTV.cn.

Upon the completion of the merger, CNTV.cn will reportedly focus on videos and the pictures previously published on the website will be gradually replaced by videos. As a government-sponsored online video website, many Chinese privately-owned video websites may face difficult futures as more regulations push them to the side.

Xia added that CNVT.cn has many exclusive video copyrights and boasts the largest video database in Asia. For the marketing value of CNVT.cn, Xia said it must have its own media brand to become a mainstream marketing channel. Meanwhile, it should build up its public credibility.