(Yicai Global) May 11 -- Chinese digital television firm AVIT Ltd. will work with 10 domestic TV operators to broadcast virtual reality content via cable television networks.

Shenzhen-based AVIT has signed separate cooperation agreements with 10 national and regional cable television operators including China Cable Television Network Co. for the industrialized operation of VR content, it said in a statement.

China's VR industry is expected to surpass CNY10 billion (USD1.51 billion) in output value this year. The country is expected to be the biggest market globally for VR by 2021 with a compound annual growth rate of 80 percent over the next five years.

The 10 cable TV operators that have signed up to work with AVIT include Shenzhen Topway Video Communication Co., Shaanxi Broadcast & TV Network Intermediary Group Co. and Wasu Media Network Co., a wholly-owned unit of Wasu Media Holding Co.

AVIT will set up VR broadcasting on new media formats such as ultra-high definition panoramic videos and VR videos through the use of cable TV networks and broadband networks operators as transmission channels.

The firm and its partners will turn a huge amount of cultural, tourist, educational and sports content into VR material and simultaneously transmit the content to their existing TV content to subscribers.

By offering various forms of VR video viewing experience and exploring the combination of VR and traditional services, they will look to convert existing digital TV subscribers of their cable networks into VR digital TV subscribers, the statement added. The firm will also explore new operating models such as paid VR content, VR ads, embedded advertising, VR live-streaming and on-demand content and will share profits with TV firms.

AVIT will build a national VR operating platform and push for the integration of the technology with other advanced platforms such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interface, image recognition, machine vision, speech recognition and blockchain.

Editor: William Clegg