Websites deny 'ban on US TV shows' even after 4 halted  

"大爆炸"等4部美剧下架 视频网站否认"美剧禁令"

上周六，在国内有很大观众群的《生活大爆炸》、《傲骨贤妻》等美剧突然在搜狐、优酷等各大视频网站下架。昨天，相关视频网站人士向记者证实，称上周五接到管理部门下架通知，但具体原因并不清楚，“目前下架的作品，对题材和尺度并没有指向性”。对于有媒体报道称未来80%美剧都存在下架风险，相关视频网站均表示无法评论，一切按管理部门规定办。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – Four popular American TV series have been removed from China's video websites "on policy grounds," but some sites have denied that there is a ban, according to the Beijing Youth Daily.

Sitcom The Big Bang Theory, legal and political drama The Good Wife, crime drama NCIS, and legal drama The Practice have been inaccessible since last Saturday, shocking many fans and netizens. Some websites confirmed on Sunday that they had received notification to stop streaming the shows, but "the reason was unclear."

The ban has confused fans about what rules the dramas have violated. A staffer at an unnamed site said the The Big Bang Theory is rated G in the US, while Games of Thrones, which is filled with violence and nudity, made its China debut on CCTV last Sunday.

China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) has issued a requirement that US and UK TV shows must pass censors before they are streamed on websites. Some overseas media said that according to the regulation, over 80 percent of US shows streamed in China would be banned.

But Sohu, which provides more than 30 authorized US shows on its website, said foreign media misunderstood the SARFT's regulation. "The regulation isn't a ban on US shows. Most of them streamed on sites have been approved by relevant authorities."