China Central Television (CCTV) has begun the sale of its advertising slots for 2012.

Online bids will open on Nov 8 for prime-time slots, such as those before and after the 33-year-old News Bulletin. Online bidding for slots on some programs, such as the half-hour Economics News, will open on Oct 22. Advertisement slots for other shows are available for purchase from Sept 21.

In 2010, the auction of prime-time ad slots raised 10.97 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in about 13 hours.