Prime time TV revamp to provide more program choice

Prime time television audiences are to get more choice of show from 2015, with new rules set to ban more than two channels broadcasting the same program at the same time, and no more than two episodes of a series in a row.

Observers said this move, announced by TV regulator, State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television on Tuesday, would likely benefit wealthier TV channels.

The adjustment is intended to enrich the breadth of TV series being broadcast and balance the type of shows on offer, said the administration.

Presently, TV series in China are either exclusively broadcast or shared among four or more satellite stations, which causes a waste of satellite resources when they overlap, according to Lu Di, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Peking University.

"The worst for Chinese audiences was when 18 stations broadcast the same TV drama. at once. The situation is gradually improving," Lu told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The new rules met with a mixed reception from China's TV viewers. According to a survey from sina.com, 44 percent of the voters believe that viewers will have more shows to select from, while some 30 percent think the limit of two episodes per night is far from enough. Some 26 percent voted that the new policy does not affect them in any way because they watch TV series online.

Li Jingsheng, director of the TV drama department of the administration, has previously said that China's TV market sees an overabundance of TV series production.

China saw the first decrease in TV series production in 2013, after 13 years of constant increase. The number of episodes produced last year totaled 15,000, the Beijing Times reported, 2,000 lower than in previous years.

Li noted that the industry should be encouraged to only produce one series for one specific satellite station, which could reduce both production costs and actors' salaries.

"The adjustment will lead to rising prices for TV series with good quality, as only two stations will be entitled to broadcast them at once. This will be great news for TV stations with stronger economic capabilities," Lu said, warning that it might end up with richer stations gaining, while disadvantaged stations will not benefit at all.

The high cost of advertising on some popular stations such as Hunan Satellite Television could mean they have little impact from the adjustment. However, those with less popularity will come under pressure when they have less advertising revenue, an anonymous head of a satellite station was quoted by the Beijing Times as saying on Tuesday.

Stations with weaker economic power may try their hand at entertainment shows, like talent shows. This will naturally result in better produced shows, but more copycats will also emerge, Wang Ran, a well-known Chinese venture capitalist, wrote on his Sina Weibo account on Tuesday.