BEIJING (AP) – Every foreign TV show and movie shown on Chinese online streaming sites will have to be approved by authorities or else go offline early next year, the country’s broadcast regulator said Friday, tightening control over the online industry.
Licensed foreign content also cannot be greater than 30 percent of the total domestic content licensed in the previous year, according to an executive at one of the sites, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak directly to the media.
The announcement on the website of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television only addressed the approval requirement for foreign content and did not mention the 30 percent limit.
It said that video sites must register their foreign content with their local broadcasting authority before the end of March. Companies must obtain a screening license or distribution license for each TV drama or film and those that do not have one will not be allowed to be broadcast, it said.
The purpose is to “help online culture grow and prosper,” it said adding that this could be achieved by “promoting excellent Chinese traditional culture” and encouraging websites “to import a moderate amount of foreign films and TV shows that are healthy in content, finely produced and promote truth, virtue and beauty.”