‘The Walking Dead’ And Other Top US TV Shows May Be Banned In China
Fans in China can face disappointment as "The Walking Dead" and other top U.S. TV shows might be banned. TWD has time and again proved that it is one of the most popular TV shows. In the past, "The Walking Dead" has overshadowed "Sunday Night Football" in terms of ratings. However, now the show might face a ban in China.
According to report by CNN, broadcast regulator in China has suggested that only healthy content will be approved for viewing from April 2015. It means shows like "The Walking Dead" and Masters of Sex" will not be available for viewers in China.
Moreover, the online broadcasters may have to wait for the complete season of the show to air in the U.S. before they make it available for streaming in China. Fans of the show fear that they might have to watch the censored version on various streaming websites.
Many youths in China are downloading the shows as they feel it is the only way to watch them. The officials in China fear about the impact of the shows from the west.
"The following used to be small -- but now it's gotten so huge that officials become nervous about the impact and feel compelled to do something about it," Wu Yeni, corporate publicist from Beijing said (via CNN).
Jeremy Goldkorn is a renowned commentator on the media of China and according to Goldkorn these new rules may have something to do with the commercial aspect.
"They don't want people to get too hooked on foreign shows and not to watch any Chinese content," Goldkorn said.
Wu said that it would be tragic if China bans the American TV shows. "It would be just tragic if you couldn't even choose your own entertainment," Wu said.
It is yet to be seen if "The Walking Dead" will be banned in China in 2015.
"The Walking Dead" Season 5B airs in February 2015.
Contact the writer at t.mazumdar@ibtimes.com.au.