AP reports that China set new rules for TV talent shows, “banning ‘American Idol’ -style mass audience voting by mobile phone text message and the Internet and forcing the programs out of prime time. From FOXNews:
Media analyst Wang Ran said Saturday that the new regulations effectively kill the hugely popular TV format in China. “It’s nearly impossible to create interesting TV talent shows under the new framework,” Wang said. Wang, chief executive of the Beijing-based investment bank China eCapital Corp., which specializes in media deals, said it “single-handedly kills the genre of TV talent shows.”
The lengthy 1 1/2-page order, posted on the Web site of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, or SARFT, follows a recent crackdown on talent shows. The move also comes amid a tightening of media controls ahead of next month’s Communist Party congress, a once-every-five-years meeting to appoint senior leaders and set major policies….[Full Text]
[Image: Fans of Super Girl Li Yuchun, via Google Image]
