????REALITY TV shows in China will face a raft of new rules that will restrict the number of shows on each satellite broadcaster to one reality series per year, according to Chinese media. ????One of three State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) rules will take effect at the end of June, followed by two additional rules in July. The rules do not differentiate between domestic and foreign shows, according to Hollywood Reporter. ????The rules are the latest in a raft of regulations controlling TV content. Chinese online video providers do not seem to be affected by the rules. ????Reality shows like “Where Are We Going, Daddy?” and “Running Man” are wildly popular in China. There are no U.S. reality shows airing in China at the moment. ????Since April, all foreign TV shows have to be reviewed by SAPPRFT before they can be posted on Chinese video sites, and producers must present an entire season for approval before a show can be offered. ????Reality TV shows are the latest programs to fall foul of China’s web of regulations, as the government tries to tighten up on what it considers vulgar or decadent content. ????According to a report on the Yuletoushiyan Weibo microblog and other sites, SAPPRFT will issue three rules for reality shows. The one that takes effect later this month will say that each satellite broadcaster can only air one reality show, with content “close to the masses, with no exaggeration and no mixing the spurious with the genuine.” ????SAPPRFT tends to issue its directives to individual companies rather than posting them broadly online, so often news of changes in the rules becomes known over time through websites such as Yuletoushiyan and others. ????The other rules state that only one season of any reality show can be shown per year, and only two daytime repeats are permitted. These rules take effect in July. ????Many reality formats in China come from South Korea, including the two giants, “Where Are We Going, Daddy?” and “Running Man.” Both have spawned at least two movie spinoffs that were box-office smashes: “Where Are We Going, Daddy?” and “Emperor Holiday.” ????“Running Man” involves contestants competing against each other in various challenges while “Where Are We Going, Daddy?” involves celebrity fathers and their offspring going camping. ????Another popular reality show, “We Are in Love” on Jiangsu TV, was taken off the air this week and suspended, ostensibly for technical reasons. But there are online rumors that the suspension had to do with the new rules. The reported reason was that the show needed to have “more normal people falling in love on the show.” ????Reality TV shows are so popular in China that production companies are making cheap and cheerful movie adaptations of them to run in theaters, often reaping massive box-office revenue. ????(SD-Agencies) | 