Chinese authorities have banned satellite
broadcasters from buying the rights to more than one
foreign-made program per year in a bid to tackle
"vulgar" and "excessive" entertainment in Chinese
television.
A statement from the State General Administration of
Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television and
published in Chinese state media on Sunday said the
ruling would come into effect in 2014. It also stated
that these foreign shows would not be allowed to air in
prime time between 7:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. during
the year the rights were purchased.
In February, regulators issued broadcasters with a
directive capping imported television shows to 50
episodes, with no more than 25% of a station's total air
time devoted to foreign-produced programing.
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Instead these key times in the day will be filled with
what it described as "morality-building programs" with
an educational value.
The authorities in China have become
increasingly concerned by the rising
reliance on shows such as "Chinese Idol,"
a talent show that replicates the formula
of the hugely popular "American idol."
Broadcasters have found these types of
programs easy to license and hugely
popular with viewers and sponsors alike.
But Xia Chen'an, Deputy Editor-in-chief of
Zhejiang satellite television, said in a
statement that the new regulations would
help to promote the originality of Chinese
programs and tackle "excessive"
entertainment and the lack of diversity. He
said they would also address concerns
about the "vulgarity" of Chinese television.
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Not everyone agrees.
"Eventually, the Chinese television market
will move to a trend of 'less but good,'"
one senior media professional, who preferred not to be
named, told CNN. "But regulating TV entertainment
feels like something we would do during the Maoist
era."
Others are worried that the new regulations may drive
away television viewers, especially with rapid growth of
the Internet and mobile television market.
Meanwhile, news of the tightened
regulations sparked an angry response on
China's popular micro-blogging service,
Weibo, with many criticizing the move as
arbitrary and ignorant.
"Cultural dictatorship, we can't do
anything about it," said one user known
as sanbuzhongdeqie.
"This is sick, are we going back to Cultural Revolution?"
asked another called fengkuangdeshiziMisselva. "TV is
useless now; fortunately, we still have computers," he
continued.
"What a ridiculous regulation, it's clear CCTV is afraid
of losing its status or fearful to competition, so they can
only use despicable measures to suppress other satellite
televisions," posted another known as xiaojiewu.
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