China Digital Times

China news tagged with: television (10)

• China to Tighten Control on Sex-Related TV Advertisements

  

  From MalaysiaNews.Net:

  China’s television watchdog has initiated a fresh round of crackdowns on sex-related TV commercials, warning it might go as far as revoking broadcasting licences for those companies acting out of line.

  According to a circular posted Saturday on the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) website, all commercials for drugs, medical equipment and health supplements for sexual enhancement should be ‘resisted and cleansed’ by radio and TV broadcasting authorities at all levels.

  The SARFT would name and shame the offending broadcasters and would temporarily ban them from airing all commercial advertisements as punishment, according to the circular cited by Xinhua news agency.

  The watchdog would even revoke a company’s broadcasting licence if the case was serious enough, the circular said.

  » Read more
  • February 21, 2010 12:49 AM

• Qian Gang: What Does the Fate of Sun TV in China Tell Us?

  

  In late November, television viewers found that they were no longer able to receive the broadcast signal from Sun TV. As Qian Gang writes for China Media Project, it is clear that the reformist network’s “broadcasts to the mainland through the government-operated Asia-Pacific Six satellite [were] terminated”:

  In the past I believed that the space for Sun TV’s development on the mainland would be rather small. A channel that targets a specified audience must rely predominantly on service subscriptions, and this is not yet a mature model for the television market in mainland China. But I discovered this year that even in a tough Chinese media environment, squeezed between political and economic pressures, Sun TV had emerged as a successful oddity. Its investors were not focused on maximizing profits, but instead used investment gains from elsewhere to support media development.

  Sun TV acted responsibly and ambitiously, opening up a valuable window on China’s realities, discussing its problems, and seeking solutions. Through its extraordinary efforts, the network brought out the core public character of the media.

  And as it had anticipated, Sun TV resonated with audiences in mainland China.

  China’s political landscape should not be denied the ray of sunshine afforded by the lively debate at Sun TV. And the public has the right to demand of the government that they make clear the reasons behind the interruption of the network’s signal.

  » Read more
  • December 11, 2009 10:17 PM

• CCTV Cancels a Talk Show and Shifts its Focus Toward Entertainment

  

  The CCTV talk show, Tell It Like It Is (实话实说), has been cancelled, reportedly due to low ratings. However, the show’s demise may be better explained by CCTV’s shift towards entertainment programming. Danwei’s Joel Martinsen translates commentary from Chinese blogger Hecaitou:

  What Cui Yongyuan [first host of Tell It Like It Is] started, He Jing [second host of Tell It Like It Is] has brought to a close. Cui did not realize at the time that the program would become so well-known — CCTV has so many programs. He Jing did not sense the way the wind was blowing, and thus a program that lucked into its position lucked out of it because its value was entirely different to different people. Yet the big picture is quite clear: CCTV is revamping this year, collecting all so-called “prime-time muscle” (黄金强档) onto CCTV-1, including Zhu Jun’s Art Life. Dissecting this trifling program reveals the strategy behind this.

  Art Life is a packaged entertainment program that is neither art nor life. It is a televised version of Woman Friend magazine: the biggest draw for the audience is not to appreciate artistic quality or life stories, but to consume the tears of entertainers. If China permitted betting exchanges, then each episode would probably pull in several hundred million in speculations on the precise minute the entertainer’s tears would begin to flow. To pluck up its spirits in the face of new media’s weakening effect, the station ultimately chose to chase entertainment, because no one would watch otherwise. Axing a pure talk show like To Tell The Truth, one that is seriously deficient amusement-wise, is nothing is strange at all.

  » Read more
  • September 25, 2009 5:54 PM

• Chinese Reject Newest TV Star As Too Pretty for Ugly Role

  

  Tania Branigan reports in The Guardian on the new Chinese version of Ugly Betty:

  But now “Ugly Wudi” faces a backlash, with newspapers and internet users complaining that the star of the show is too good-looking for the role.

  …(the unnamed star) prepared for the role by putting on 10kg and sunbathing to get a tan. Pale skin is highly prized in China and skin whitening products are a huge industry.

  Her efforts did not impress potential viewers. By early afternoon almost 3,300 comments on the show had been posted on the popular Baidu website – many suggesting that the actress was too attractive, and even arguing the programme should be renamed “Pretty Wudi”.

  “The actress should be fatter,” said one disgruntled comment.

  See also ‘Ugly Betty’ Makes Debut on China.Org.Cn

  » Read more
  • September 19, 2008 11:47 AM

• ‘Lost’ in China

  

  From Laura Sydell at NPR’s Morning Edition:

  Yao Jun prefers to get his entertainment on the Internet, where he can find the shows he likes almost immediately after they’ve aired in the U.S. Yao lives 45 minutes from the center of Shanghai, in a newly minted gated community of prefab townhouses.

  In a den on the second floor sits the center of Yao’s home entertainment: a desktop computer with a high-speed Internet connection. He’s a big Lost fan — he’s just downloaded the latest episode — and he prefers American TV to Chinese television.

  “I like that kind of culture, and I like that kind of lifestyle better,” Yao says in Chinese as he excitedly watches the opening scenes. “I don’t like the Chinese shows. They are often pretentious. They don’t look real.”

  Unfortunately for Yao, the Chinese government will not allow American companies to broadcast their shows on Chinese television.

  » Read more
  • June 24, 2008 2:32 PM

• A New Cultural Revolution – Melinda Liu

  

  From The Newsweek: Despite TV censorship, hot news, cool personalities”and a tinge of controversy”are enlivening China’s small screen.

  In mainland media, coverage of politics is still tightly controlled; contentious topics such as leadership tensions or the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown remain taboo. Despite such restrictions”or perhaps because of them”in China, news is new. “Taiwan had 10 TV news channels, but mainland China didn’t have even one,” Liu recalls, “That’s why I knew there was an audience for news.” Now Phoenix”which claims some 130 million viewers in the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan”has three Chinese”language feeds, including the main channel which features news, current affairs and general”entertainment shows; a 24″hour news channel; and a movie channel.

  » Read more
  • November 9, 2005 9:03 PM

• Super Voice Girls and Democracy – ESWN

  

  From EastSouthWestNorth blog:

  The televised event Super Girls from Hunan Satellite Television is finally over after many weeks. The final show garnered a rating of better than 10%, which is astonishing for a regional television channel. The tremendous interest is this event is no doubt related to the fact that the selection process was conducted by citizens voting through SMS messages. Inevitably, the discussion has moved to the implications for democracy in China. This post collects a number of these political discussions.

  » Read more
  • August 28, 2005 12:50 PM

• Tycoons Extend Rivalry to Chinese Television – Keith Bradsher

  

  From The New York Times:

  When two real estate tycoons make preparations to start rival television shows within weeks of fighting each other in court, it has all the looks of an ego-driven catfight.

  That perception is only reinforced when the tycoons are Donald J. Trump, New York’s brashest developer, and Vincent Lo, a Hong Kong developer who has made a fortune in Shanghai with a flashy formula worthy of Mr. Trump.

  But both developers are playing down their rivalry as they prepare to introduce similar-sounding reality shows on Chinese television and as they continue litigating a $1 billion dispute over the proceeds from a once-close property partnership on Manhattan’s West Side.

  » Read more
  • August 28, 2005 4:11 AM

• New rules to safeguard China’s cultural security

  

  From Xinhua – English:

  China will not permit any more overseas satellite television channels to land on its mainland and will not allow foreign investment in the country’s news media, according to new government regulations.

  China promulgated earlier this month three regulations on the import of cultural products, the use of foreign capital in the cultural sector, and foreign and non-public investment in cultural undertakings. Analysts say these regulations aim to put Sino-foreign cultural exchanges in order and safeguard cultural security.

  “It is an active response to the new situation after China joined the World Trade Organization,” said Wang Zhimin, a professor at Beijing Film Academy.

  » Read more
  • August 13, 2005 11:07 PM

• Gov’t to allow Disney and others to invest in Chinese TV

  

  Another story on new rules governing foreign ownership of TV stations, from the Malaysia Star today:

  Beginning Nov. 28, foreign companies will be allowed to own up to 49% of Chinese TV firms, provided they use “China themes” in two-thirds of their programming.

  The worlds largest television audience will welcome overseas giants like Viacom, Disney and News Corp as the Chinese government looks to boost broadcasters’ revenues.

  » Read more
  • November 18, 2004 5:15 PM

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