The New Express
November 19, 2008

At its annual prime-time ad auction yesterday, CCTV announced that the total bid value for its TV channels in 2009 topped 9.2 billion yuan, a jump of 15.4% from last year's 8.2 billion yuan.

Kweichow Moutai, a well-known distillery, reportedly won the 15 second ad spot right before the 7pm Network News Broadcast with a bid of 51 million yuan, and the sponsorship rights for the 7pm time check with a bid of 32 million yuan. Sichuan-based Langjiu, another liquor manufacturer, bid 71 million yuan to sponsor 2009's poll of viewers' favorite Spring Festival Gala performances.

The Spring Festival Gala time-check sponsorship was sold to Guangdong-based home appliances manufacturer Midea for 47 million yuan.

CCTV has not yet announced its "bid king" for 2009. The title for the company that bid the most for ads on CCTV is currently held by dairy producer Yili, which spent 373.82 million yuan this year.

Also: Baidu refrains its "bid ranking service"
Baidu.com, the leading Chinese-language Internet search provider, recently became wrapped up in a dispute over its "bid ranking service." The search engine accepted payment in return for inflating the ranking of links to their clients, including medical companies with unsubstantiated claims for their products.

After the controversial service was exposed by the media, including a segment on CCTV, the company issued an official apology on November 17 for mismanagement on its marketing department. The New Express reported today that the company has also dropped keywords such as "cancer", "tumor" from its bid rank page.