China: TV Contest Shows Too Popular

[AmericanErrorist]

BEIJING--Nervous about the growing popularity and fervor surrounding American Idol-type TV contests like “Supergirl,” China’s government is reining in provincial broadcasters with new rules that will make the shows blander, less profitable and possibly even force them off the air.

Regulations announced by China’s State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) this month require contestants to be at least 18, prohibit broadcasters from awarding prizes to winners, and require contestants to behave conservatively (no more suggestive dancing on stage or “vulgar” hair, baggy clothes and bare midriffs). And judges are forbidden to embarrass contestants on air.

The new rules also limit the number of contest shows allowed on the airwaves each year and forbid local TV stations from running them at all, reducing the number of rural consumers who can watch the programs. And broadcasters are banned from copying the format of existing shows.

The changes follow a surge in copycat shows hoping to mimic the success of last year’s wildly popular Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Supergirl Contest, a talent competition known as “Supergirl” and sponsored by Mengniu Dairy. The company is believed to have paid about $1.7 million to get its name on the show.

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