Xie said many details in the report - especially the numbers - have not been confirmed by the administration department.

"We've been working on this issue for more than 10 years," he said.

"Those are not broadcasting stations, but unauthorized broadcasting points built out of simple equipment, including a computer or DVD player and a signal emitter," he said. "We won't deny the existence of such points, since finding and banning them is the biggest part of our regular work."

Xie said it is difficult to discover where the points are hidden.

"Some operators have even moved their equipment to boats to avoid being detected by us," he said.

Unauthorized broadcasting points mainly exist in rural areas or in the countryside, out of the reach of cable TV, according to an anonymous staff member in the Anhui Provincial Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Xie also denied that the profits of running an unauthorized broadcasting point could be as high as 800,000 yuan to 900,000 yuan, as the report said.

"It is not possible at all," he said, "Depending on their coverage, I would assume the profit wouldn't exceed 200,000 yuan a year."

Most of the programs distributed by unauthorized broadcasters consist of light entertainment and are aimed at attracting larger audiences, Xie said.

Zong Xulin, a 46-year-old resident in Nihe county of Anhui province, said he receives several of the channels.

"They usually broadcast dramas that aren't very well-known," said Zong, whose home is an area that does not get cable TV . "Those channels always contain lots of medicine advertisements."

"The ads either come from illegal medicine manufacturers who want to promote their sales or local villagers who would like to see their names on TV."