Online TV programs boom amid control concerns

Edison Chen (left) stars in Blind Spot, which is directed by Danny Pang and broadcast on v.qq.com. Provided to China Daily

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China's regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, ordered Diors Man to be removed from Sohu.com on April 29.Additionally, four popular TV shows from the United States were pulled out of Chinese online streaming space. The reasons are not yet known.

In March, the regulator had pointed to a rule that required online programs to be screened prior to public viewing and last month, SAPPRFT warned Sina.com that its online publishing license might go after articles and video content fell foul of China's anti-pornography movement.

The "Cleaning the Web 2014" campaign has already led to about 110 websites being shut down and the deletion of some 3,300 accounts on social media.

The regulator has vowed to continue its crackdown on online pornography and punish violators, whether through fines, stripped licenses or criminal prosecutions.

Copyright infringements are another concern for video streaming services. This month, QVOD Technology shut down its QVOD (quasi video on demand)servers after the National Copyright Administration said the company, along with Baidu's video service, violated copyrights.

QVOD, with a user base of around 300 million, used to offer pirated videos and pornography with the facility of peer-to-peer video streaming technology.

Despite all this, there is faith in the industry. Jin Dao, a script writer, believes the trend is irreversible. "The Internet is very likely to be the platform for China's culture industry in the near future."