Foreign TV shows in China under the scanner

A scene from the popular TV series House of Cards. [Photo/China Daily]

The number of foreign TV series expected to be licensed will definitely see a drop in the future, says Feng Jun, senior analyst with entertainment industry consultancy EntGroup. Feng says that the scenes featuring "certain levels of violence and sex will surely be cut during official examination".

Some Chinese fans worry that TV serials featuring supernatural themes such as American Horror Story, for example, will fail to reappear on Chinese websites.

In the past few years, Chinese companies have been streaming content that couldn't be shown on TV, thanks to a less strict streaming system.

Cai Fuchao, director general of the state administration, was quoted by Beijing Youth Daily in December saying that content offline and online should now follow the same standards.

The popular erotic romance Fifty Shades of Grey was scheduled for a high-profile release on major Chinese video websites including iQiyi and Tencent Video on Feb 27.

But it failed to be posted to the sites, leading many fans to speculate that the US film's controversial subject meant its release was delayed.

"It will not be possible for shows to exist on video websites for a long time if they can't be shown on TV channels," Sun Zhonghuai, vice-president of Tencent Holdings, told a news conference in Beijing while announcing the company's deal with HBO last year.

This, however, could also be an opportunity to apply a rating system to China's online video industry, says iQiyi's deputy editor-in-chief to news portal Tencent Technology.

But because foreign shows don't make up the bulk of sales on Chinese video sites, the uncertainty surrounding their streaming in China isn't expected to affect the businesses of such sites, Feng says.