SARFT's Film and Television Specification Order Implements Video Websites to Produce Homemade Plays

This means that in the past, the crazy shopping drama of video sites was about to come to an end, and the "synchronized updating" of overseas dramas on domestic websites is no longer possible. Under the new rules, the broadcast volume of overseas dramas will inevitably decrease, and home-made dramas and home-made dramas will have more room.
With the continuous development of major video sites on homemade content, a new round of content competition may surface.

The "time difference" of overseas drama

As early as a year ago, SARFT imposed strict rules on the broadcast of overseas dramas on the Internet in 2015.

The first is the limit on the number of plays. It is reported that the number of overseas film and television dramas that can be introduced by video sites in 2015 is 30% of the number of domestic dramas that were broadcast online in the previous year, and the country and subject matter types must be diversified. As an analogy, a domestic video site that was newly launched on a video site in 2014 was 200, and the number of overseas dramas that the site can introduce in 2015 cannot exceed 60.

The second is content control. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television encourages the introduction of overseas dramas that are healthy, well-made and promote truth, goodness and beauty. As a result, violence in certain overseas dramas is bound to be cut down. This rule has caused a series of dramas such as a big explosion of life, a proud wife and a proud wife.

The third is "first review after broadcast." According to the notice issued by the General Administration of Radio, Film and Television on September 5, 2014, the Internet audio-video program service website shall register the information of the overseas film and television programs broadcast on this website before March 31, 2015 according to regulations, and register it with the administrative department of press, broadcasting, and TV, on April 1. Foreign film and television dramas that have not been registered may not be broadcast. After April 1, 2015, overseas film and television dramas that have been on-line must receive a full-length film and have their subtitles handed over to the local bureau of locality for approval. After the review is approved, the import license number will be available for on-line broadcast. This means that overseas drama "synchronous updates" will no longer be possible, and video site users will encounter poor time in the country, ranging from a few weeks to a year.

The fourth is unified registration. It is reported that overseas film and television dramas broadcasted before September 2014 must be completed before April 1, 2015. Online broadcast agreements cannot be renewed after the expiry date. If the renewal agreement is followed, new policies will be adopted.


Although the new regulations came into effect on April 1 this year, the vast majority of video sites have already updated overseas dramas in accordance with this requirement. Websites including Youku Tudou and Sohu Video, invariably told reporters that they would respect relevant regulations and implement new regulatory requirements. According to statistics, the number of US dramas that were simultaneously updated on the entire network video site in 2015 decreased by 22% over the same period of last year, a drop of 43%.

Under the influence of “preliminary review and broadcast”, video websites have become more cautious in purchasing overseas dramas. "The overall number of broadcasts will certainly be reduced, and the number and quality will be more stringent," said one video site practitioner.

Although the new regulations seem to tie up the hands and feet of video sites, they also bring unexpected benefits. It is understood that it is precisely because of the "time difference" caused by the "preliminary review after broadcast" that the cost of overseas dramas has been reduced. It is reported that the copyright fees of overseas dramas have risen in recent years, especially the prices of Korean dramas have been somewhat imaginary and have repeatedly set records.

Some media reports said that three or four years ago, Korean TV broadcast rights in China were only US$1,000-3,000 per episode. By 2013, it quickly broke through a single set of US$10,000. The famous Korean drama from you stars, the copyright price has soared to 40,000 US dollars per set. The Doctor aliens who played in May 2014 have even surpassed the $80,000 episode. The implementation of the new norms of overseas drama has, to a certain extent, curbed this phenomenon. It is reported that since January this year, the copyright price of Korean drama has dropped by a third.

However, in another case, under the new rules, some viewers may download through overseas channels in order to watch overseas dramas synchronously. If the source of overseas dramas for irregular channels first spreads in China, formal video sites may suffer from loss of users.

Self-made drama

After the implementation of the new regulations, each video site is bound to adjust the content on the platform, and this will affect the website's revenue and profits more or less.

The person in charge of iQiyi told reporters that the implementation of the new regulations had little effect on iQiyi itself. “From a traffic point of view, the proportion of American dramas in iQIYI is not large. In contrast, other domestic dramas, movies, and animations account for the bulk of users' preferences. Although overseas dramas must be reviewed first and then broadcast, they still have Can be broadcast." The responsible person said that (new regulations) will have a certain impact, but little impact.

The person in charge of Youku Tudou told reporters that various types of content on the platform are relatively balanced, and that copyright purchase content and home-made content account for almost half of the total – while in copyright purchase content, the proportion of overseas TV shows is even smaller.

In fact, many video sites believe that the viewers of the American drama are niche and not the main users of the Internet. The main traffic of major websites is not from the American drama, but domestic TV dramas and large-scale variety shows. The reporter reviewed the rankings of several mainstream video websites and found that the amount of domestic TV shows is much higher than that of Japanese, American, and Korean dramas. From this perspective, the overall impact of the "normative orders" on the video industry is limited.

Now that the new regulations have come into effect, the most direct benefit is home-made dramas and website-made dramas. Some analysts said that in the face of the control of overseas dramas, many video sites have chosen home-made dramas to enhance the content richness. This is because self-made plays are more controllable, have lower costs, and have good commercial prospects.

Compared to outsourcing copyrights, the input-output ratio of self-made plays is higher. "Usually, the source of the film can only be used to play back-and-forth adverts. The self-produced drama has more space for content marketing, including branding, title listing, sponsorship broadcast, etc. The income channels are also more diversified." Youku Tudou Related sources said.

Nowadays, major websites including iQIYI, Youku Tudou, LeTV, and Tencent have all spent huge sums of money to support network self-made dramas and march toward integrated production and broadcasting. Not only that, iQIYI, Youku Tudou also set up a film company to invest in big movies. It is reported that ghost blow lights, Tomb notes, rush that year, Diablo 2 and other self-made drama investment exceeded 20 million yuan, the highest even reached 200 million yuan.

Although there are people in the industry who say that “the self-produced contents of video websites are basically inaccessible, the subject matter is monotonous, the contents are boring, and the visibility is low”, it is certain that under the new regulations, major video websites will be on the battlefield of self-made dramas. Intense strangulation. With the dramatic increase in the diversity of home-grown content on video sites, the trend of video site television stations will accelerate.