Initslatestrulingsonvideowebsites,China’stopmediaregulatorhasmadeitclearthatoverseastelevisionprogramswillberestrictedinbothcontentandnumber.
TheStateAdministrationofPress,Publication,Radio,FilmandTelevisionannouncedonSept5thatoverseasmoviesandTVseriesthatdon’tobtainapublicscreeninganddistributionlicensecannotbestreamedonvideowebsites.
SuchsitesarerequiredtoregisterdetailsoftheirongoingprogramswiththeadministrationbeforeMarch31;startingonApril1allunregisteredshowsshouldberemoved.
ThepolicycameafteraseriesofprogressiverestrictionpoliciesregardingInternet-basedprograms.
InMarch,theadministrationrequiredthatonlinecontentbeexaminedbyatleastthreegovernment-trainedspecialists.Programsshouldberemovedimmediatelyiftheyincludeinappropriatecontent,suchaspromotingsuperstitionorglamorizingviolence,sexorgambling.
InlateApril,itrequiredfourpopularAmericanTVseries,includingTheGoodWifeandTheBigBangTheory,toberemovedfromvideowebsiteswithoutgivingspecificreasons.
InJuly,theadministrationcalledmeetingswithsevenlicensedInternet-televisioncontentproviders,whichprovideonlinecontenttoset-topboxes,towarnofapossiblelicensewithdrawalbecauseallhaveactedagainstrulesinvaryingdegrees.Asaresult,manyUSprogramsarenowmissingfromLeTVbox,anamesakeInternetTVsetofvideoportalLeTV.com.
Thenewpolicyissimplyarestatementofpreviousregulations,eMovieInc’sCEOBaoRantoldSinaEntertainment,butitmeansthatvideowebsiteswillberestrictedinthesamewayasTVstationsare,regardinglicensingoverseasprograms.
Previously,videowebsitesneededtosimplyregisterbeforebroadcastingoverseascontent,ratherthanapplyforaformaldistributionlicense.Theshowsreportedlyhavebeenexaminedmainlybythewebsites’ownpersonnel,whoaretrainedbytheadministration.
Thenewproceduresaremorecomplicatedandstricter.AccordingtonewsportalSinaTechnology,beforetheendofeachyearvideowebsiteswillhavetoreporttheiryear-roundpurchaseplanforthenextyeartoprovincialmediaauthorities,whowillthenforwardtheproposalstotheadministration.
EachFebruary,shortlistedprogramswillbepostedonanonlineplatform.Aftervideowebsitesactuallylicenseaprogram,theystillhavetoregistertheprograminformationontheplatformforarecheck.Eachprogramwillthenbeissuedaserialnumber,whichmustbescreenedbeforeashowstarts.
Expertsworrythatthesetime-consumingprocessesmean,ataminimum,thatforeignprogramswillnolongerbealmostsimulcastinChinaandtheiroriginalcountries.PreviouslyashowcouldreachChineseaudiencesassoonasseveralhoursaftertheirdebutonoriginalchannels,equippedwithChinesesubtitles.
Thenewpolicyalsorequiresthenumberofoverseasprogramsbenomorethan30percentofawebsite’stotalcontent.This,however,isnotexpectedtohavemuchimpact,ITportalImtw.com’sCEOZhangYanxiangtellsreporters,asoverseascontentcurrentlydoesn’taccountforsuchasignificantshareoftheprogramming.
Evenso,withmorestimulatingsubjects,betterproductionandfasternarrativerhythm,foreignshows－especiallyTVseriesfromtheUnitedStates－havehelpedChina’smajorvideowebsitesattractanaudiencethatincludeswell-educatedandhighlypaidyoungelites.
Manysites,therefore,stilltreatlicensingoverseascontentasakeystrategy.LeadingvideositeSohu,forexample,whichhadexclusivelylicensedthepopularHouseofCardsandTheBigBangTheory,reportedlyplannedearlierthisyeartospendmoremoneysecuringtherightstoscreen100AmericanTVseriesfromthiscomingfall.
ButthestrictstandardsofofficialexaminationmeanstheonceflourishingdiversityofAmericanTVseriesonChinesevideowebsites,includingpoliticaldramas,crimeshowsandsupernaturalstories,willfaceasetback.Thisisexpectedtocausethelossofacertainaudiencesegment,saysITportaldwrh.net’seditor-in-chiefWuChunyong,whichwillaffectthewebsites’businesspatterns.
“Someadvertisementscouldbegone.Theirattemptstofosternewaudiencesbecomeinvain,”hesays.
BaoRanofeMovietoldSinaEntertainmentthatvideositeswillhavetocompeteharderforthegoodshows－andmakesuretheydon’tspendmoneyonshowsthatcan’tpassofficialexamination.
Whilethepolicyhasupsetmanyviewersandwebsites,ithascreatedanopportunityfordomesticproductions.WusaysthepolicyitselfisaclearsignofgovernmentsupportforthelocalTVindustry.
It’snotjustthatmoredomesticshowswillfindabroadcastingoutlet.Videowebsiteshavealotofdatathatclarifyaudiences’preferences.Wusaysthesitescanusethisadvantageinproducingtheirownshows,byworkingwithdomesticorevenforeigncompaniestomakeupforthepossiblelossescausedbythelimitsonoverseascontent.
“Thepolicycoulddriveallvideowebsitesbacktothesamestartingline.Whosoevertransformsfirstwillfindthewayoutearlier,”hesays.
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