China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV ( ) is the major television broadcaster in Mainland China. Organizationally, it is a sub-ministry of People's Republic of China's central government within the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and as such it does not have any editorial independence from the PRC government.

Its news reporting follows parameters directed by the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China. Most of its programming, however, is a mix of comedy and dramatic programming, the majority of which consists of Chinese soap operas. Like many media outlets in China, CCTV has had its state subsidy reduced dramatically in the 1990s, and hence finds it necessary to balance its role as a government agency with the practical fact that it must attract viewers so that it can sell commercial advertising.

In searching for viewers, CCTV has found itself in competition with local television stations (which are also state run) which have been creating increasingly large media groups in order to compete with CCTV.