A Crikey subscriber has alerted us to the fact that Rupert Murdoch’s
man in China, Jamie Davies, has suddenly found himself appointed to
Star Sports, while Rupert’s wife, Wendi Deng’s “offsider” is taking over in
Beijing. It comes at a time when the Chinese Government seems to have
turned against Rupert, passing new laws directly aimed at blocking his
expansion in China – which could see Rupert’s $5 billion gamble in China going south.

According to this Reuters
report, China has moved to to
forbid any new foreign-owned TV channels from entering the country,
clamping down on the expanding industry, and putting plans by Disney and Viacom on hold.

The clampdown is said to be part of a new move by the Government to
strengthen the industry, and tighten its control on the content making
its way onto the country’s TV screens.

Murdoch is one of the main foreign players in the Chinese broadcasting
game, along with the News Corp-backed Phoenix TV, and subsidiary Star
TV, which has limited broadcast rights.

It looks like the time has come for Rupert to draw on the strength of his Chinese connections – both personal and otherwise.