CCTV-9 boss Wen ‘arrested’

Liu Wen, who runs Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s documentary channel, has reportedly been arrested by authorities.

The CCTV-9 managing director is well-known in international documentary circles after leading CCTV’s push into coproduction and striking deals with the likes of BBC Worldwide, ITV Studios, Discovery and National Geographic Channel.

The China Daily newspaper cites a Thursday report from Chinese business news website caixin.com that said Wen was “taken away” on Wednesday after a public audit.

According to unnamed sources quoted in the article, “public auditors discovered Liu’s economic malpractice related to outsourcing of documentary and advertising affairs”.

Wen has not responded to calls from reporters, promoting further speculation that he has become the latest CCTV executive to be scrutinised.

In China, Wen is best-known for producing successful CCTV-9 doc A Bite of China, while internationally he has helmed a push into coproductions.

In March, he struck a deal with BBCWW that would see the pair coproduce science series Generation Earth and Wonders of Life. This came after a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2012.