TV regulator Ofcom has revoked the licence of Chinese network CGTN to broadcast in the UK.
The English-language news channel, formerly known as CCTV News, has been widely available around the UK on Freeview and Sky until today.
As a result of Ofcom's ruling, the channel has been removed from EPGs, although at the time of writing satellite viewers are still able to tune in to CGTN manually through their boxes.
The decision to revoke CGTN's licence came after Ofcom determined that the company that owned the licence "did not have editorial responsibility" over the channel's output - a breach of UK broadcasting laws.
The regulator said that content on the service ultimately came from a company called China Global Television Network Corporation, which is "controlled by the Chinese Communist Party". Political bodies cannot hold TV broadcast licences in the UK.
CGTN has yet to respond to the closure, which comes a week before the Chinese New Year.
Neil Wilkes
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