China’s national broadcasting authority has scotched recent reports that restrictions have been imposed on Hong Kong and Taiwan hosts working on the mainland, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post said Thursday.
Chinese media widely reported Wednesday that Hong Kong and Taiwan TV hosts could only appear on mainland TV shows as guest hosts and host no more than three episodes in a row.
The rumor caused a tumult at mainland satellite TV stations, where the “ban” would hit broadcasters’ ratings. Pay for overseas presenters would rise if they appear in fewer than three programs because “the more episodes they appear in, the cheaper the average price,” said a Jiangsu Satellite TV producer. If true, the producer said, the ban would drastically discourage TV stations from hiring Taiwan and Hong Kong hosts.
Li Bin, a State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) official, rebuffed the rumor, saying: “There is no such thing as a ban. The SARFT does not encourage, nor oppose the practice of hiring Taiwan and Hong Kong TV hosts. Each TV station makes its own decision on the issue.”
According to the newspaper, many TV stations said they had not received any official notice of the ban by Wednesday.
The SARFT also clarified another report about a time limit on reality TV shows on satellite TV channels. The authority requires such shows to run in less than two and a half months, though there is no limit on the number of shows aired nationally during prime time.
“The two-and-a-half-month ban has only been imposed on satellite channels, and does not apply to regional TV channels,” said another SARFT official surnamed Ge in charge of reality TV shows.
All last year’s reality TV shows were broadcast over a period of more than four months and made huge profits by inviting viewers to send mobile text messages. [by stephanieshieh]
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