China has ordered a ban on advertisements during TV dramas as part of its reform of cultural activities.
Adverts will not be allowed in the middle of programmes lasting for 45 minutes from 1 January next year.
The authorities said this was in line with the "spirit" of a recent Communist Party meeting. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television on Monday issued new rules restricting commercials from interrupting TV dramas, allowing them to air only back-to-back between programs.
Domestic companies are the biggest spenders on Chinese TV ads, but some foreign brands like Nike, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Sony are also present. Mr Zhao said the new regulations would create short term chaos as TV networks renegotiate advertising slots that were auctioned off as recently as this month.
Earlier this month, both foreign and domestic companies paid a record 14.26 billion yuan, or about $2.25 billion, for the rights to advertise next year on the country's largest network, China Central Television.Volkswagen AG, for example, pledged $45.6 million in the auction, according to Chinese advertising agency Charm Communications.
China isn't alone in its pursuit against ads. In 2008, French president Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a similar initiative to ban ads on public network France Télévisions, following the model of Britain's British Broadcasting Corp. But in 2010, Mr. Sarkozy, facing resistance from businesses, dropped the effort. South Korean dramas run uninterrupted on broadcast stations.
Dramas are among the most popular shows on Chinese television and, airing during prime time, attract some of the highest advertising revenue. The authorities said this was in line with the "spirit" of a recent Communist Party meeting.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, an arm of the propaganda department, has over the past two years stepped up its meddling in TV networks’ operations. In 2010, it cut the amount of commercials stations could broadcast in prime time by a quarter. This year, it has pushed networks to cut entertainment programming in favour of morally edifying shows.
Earlier this year, the regulator forced Hunan TV, China’s most commercially successful provincial broadcaster, to take “Supergirl”, the nation’s first and most successful talent show, off the air. Officials told the broadcaster that entertainment should take a back seat to “values, responsibility and quality”.
TV stations are clear about what this latest move means for them though – they say it will result in a loss of revenue. “It is said that the TV networks are now considering to shorten the length of one episode from the original 60 minutes to 30 minutes, and then commercials can be broadcast between those!” wrote Bi Yantao, director of the advertising faculty at Hainan University, on his microblog.
The move does not seem strange or wrong to Party members, who know that the Communist Party has always maintained control over cultural activities. In a recent debaucle, however, the Ministry of Culture had to cancel the first annual Chinese Peace Prize, China’s answer to the Nobel Peace Prize which last year was given to a Chinese prisoner considered a dissident and dangerous by the government.
Artists that the Ministry of Culture put in charge of the prize chose Vladimir Putin, after which the ministry shut down the proceedings.
Sources:
BBC News
WSJ.com
rationalia.com
wae4urmind
richardfarnerewsvine
FT.com
Topsy.com
Finance News
huffingtonpost
Adverts will not be allowed in the middle of programmes lasting for 45 minutes from 1 January next year.
The authorities said this was in line with the "spirit" of a recent Communist Party meeting. The State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television on Monday issued new rules restricting commercials from interrupting TV dramas, allowing them to air only back-to-back between programs.
Domestic companies are the biggest spenders on Chinese TV ads, but some foreign brands like Nike, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Sony are also present. Mr Zhao said the new regulations would create short term chaos as TV networks renegotiate advertising slots that were auctioned off as recently as this month.
Earlier this month, both foreign and domestic companies paid a record 14.26 billion yuan, or about $2.25 billion, for the rights to advertise next year on the country's largest network, China Central Television.Volkswagen AG, for example, pledged $45.6 million in the auction, according to Chinese advertising agency Charm Communications.
China isn't alone in its pursuit against ads. In 2008, French president Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a similar initiative to ban ads on public network France Télévisions, following the model of Britain's British Broadcasting Corp. But in 2010, Mr. Sarkozy, facing resistance from businesses, dropped the effort. South Korean dramas run uninterrupted on broadcast stations.
Dramas are among the most popular shows on Chinese television and, airing during prime time, attract some of the highest advertising revenue. The authorities said this was in line with the "spirit" of a recent Communist Party meeting.
The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, an arm of the propaganda department, has over the past two years stepped up its meddling in TV networks’ operations. In 2010, it cut the amount of commercials stations could broadcast in prime time by a quarter. This year, it has pushed networks to cut entertainment programming in favour of morally edifying shows.
Earlier this year, the regulator forced Hunan TV, China’s most commercially successful provincial broadcaster, to take “Supergirl”, the nation’s first and most successful talent show, off the air. Officials told the broadcaster that entertainment should take a back seat to “values, responsibility and quality”.
TV stations are clear about what this latest move means for them though – they say it will result in a loss of revenue. “It is said that the TV networks are now considering to shorten the length of one episode from the original 60 minutes to 30 minutes, and then commercials can be broadcast between those!” wrote Bi Yantao, director of the advertising faculty at Hainan University, on his microblog.
The move does not seem strange or wrong to Party members, who know that the Communist Party has always maintained control over cultural activities. In a recent debaucle, however, the Ministry of Culture had to cancel the first annual Chinese Peace Prize, China’s answer to the Nobel Peace Prize which last year was given to a Chinese prisoner considered a dissident and dangerous by the government.
Artists that the Ministry of Culture put in charge of the prize chose Vladimir Putin, after which the ministry shut down the proceedings.
Sources:
BBC News
WSJ.com
rationalia.com
wae4urmind
richardfarnerewsvine
FT.com
Topsy.com
Finance News
huffingtonpost
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