Sites ordered to remove unlicensed Internet TV apps by the end of week: report

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television has ordered major online video websites in China to remove their Internet TV apps from online stores by the end of this week to make rectifications, news portal tech.qq.com reported Thursday, citing an unnamed insider.

The administration held talks with companies including PPTV, Sohu, youku.com and iqiyi.com on Thursday, the report said, adding that failing to meet the deadline will result in firms being stripped of their Internet broadcasting licenses and their servers will also be shut down.

The apps allow TV viewers to watch programs from the Internet. According to the administration, only licensed content providers are qualified to provide apps for Internet TVs.

Seven companies currently own such a license, including CNTV, the online platform of China Central Television, BesTV New Media Co, a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, and China National Radio.

Youku Tudou Inc, which runs youku.com and tudou.com, PPTV, Sohu, and iqiyi.com were not included.

Youku Tudou said it received the notification from the administration, news portal ent.sina.com.cn reported Thursday. Other websites such as letv.com were unavailable for comment.

The administration said that Internet TVs can only use the apps from the seven licensed companies.

In July, it ordered the seven licensed companies to shut down apps that provide access to pirated and pornographic content for TV users.