Associated Press
How do you save a struggling domestic cartoon industry? Ban foreign cartoons from prime time TV is one way.
China recently introduced new regulations to ban foreign cartoons during the 'golden hours' viewing, between 5pm and 8pm. According to news reports, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television notified TV stations about the new regulation but did not make it public.
According to Shanghai Daily, Cartoon programs co-produced by domestic and foreign companies will need approval from SARFT to be shown during the target hours.
The restriction is an attempt by the government to protect the ailing domestic cartoon industry by "clearing up the sky" with preferential policies.
This is not the first time such regulations were introduced. In fact in 2004, SARFT issued a regulation requesting at least 60 percent of cartoon programs aired in a calendar quarter be domestic products. Such ruling resulted in a sharp decrease in foreign cartoons on TV.
What do the kids think about the government's intervention into their prime viewing hours? According to the Southern Metropolis News, about 80 percent of Chinese children interviewed said they like foreign cartoons.
The Government is injecting considerable investment into the domestic cartoon industry. Since the new regulation, 15 film and cartoon production bases have been established. The result was a sharp rise in cartoon programs last year. However, due to the lack of popularity among children, domestic cartoons found it hard to gain an audience during the "golden hours" and had trouble recovering production costs. (Shanghai Daily) Another factor to the lack of popularity is that the local cartoons are simply not creative enough. (People's Daily Online)
The Southern Metropolis News editorial were not supportive of the new ruling arguing that competition with foreign cartoons would 'improve' the quality of domestic cartoons. Moreover, the new move might hurt the interests of children by depriving them of their rights as consumers. The editorial also argued that, while quotas might be needed to protect competition, an outright ban on foreign cartoons during prime time was "irrational." "This is a worrying, short-sighted policy and will not solve the fundamental problems in China's cartoon industry," it concluded.
Foreign cartoons, especially from Japan, are hugely popular with China's 250 million children. Most cartoons on China Central Television, the national broadcaster, are Chinese-made. But more freewheeling local broadcasters show everything from "The Simpsons" to Japanese, South Korean and European cartoons dubbed into Chinese. (Associated Press)
The cartoon campaign according the some observers is an effort by President Hu Jintao's administration to tighten control over the pop culture, ranging from magazines, movies to websites.
Looks like the only way now to watch 'The Simpsons' is through the thriving DVD piracy industry.