China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has revoked the right of two local TV stations to run commercial advertisements in what it says in an effort to crackdown on the broadcasting of bogus claims, particularly in medical ads. Danwei interprets the bans as a kill-chicken-to-frighten-monkeys move:
The administration has been tightening its truth-in-advertising rules through series of regulations and clarifications issued over the past year or so. One key notice, jointly issued with SAIC last August, banned five categories of ads: weight-loss, breast enlargement, and height increase products, and all drugs and medical equipment..Friday’s Mirror reported that even after the ban in Ningxia and Gansu, local stations in some areas were still broadcasting prohibited commercials.
Why? It’s all about money. According to the Mirror, only the top five cable channels have filled all of their advertising slots; of the remainder, 70% of ad time remains unsold. Late-night TV time sells for as little as 1000 yuan a minute or less on local TV; when a company buys up huge chunks of time with questionable infomercials, many stations figure it’s worth the risk, particularly because the authorities haven’t really followed through on their regulatory threats in the past. [Full Text]
Danwei has also translated a number of responses to the ban from Chinese media watchers, most of whom doubt SARFT has the gumption or capability to truly scrub the airwaves of misleading commercial claims. Reports in state media from last August suggest these critics may be right.
