CHINA repeated its intention to tighten control of foreign content on online streaming sites, a move that will require websites that stream foreign films and television shows to register their content for approval in advance.

    If websites do not seek approval for their foreign programs by April 1, 2015, they won’t be able to broadcast them online, said the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) on Friday, which first unveiled its tougher stance earlier this year.

    There were signs of a boom in online foreign TV and film content in China last year, where traditional broadcasting and films allowed to air in cinemas are heavily controlled.

    Leading online video sites include those run by Sohu.com Inc., Baidu Inc.’s iQiyi, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Youku Tudou Inc.

    Last month, media reported that Tencent suspended more than 300 accounts on its WeChat mobile messaging app and banned around 40 others as government restrictions on spreading political news online took effect.

    Last week, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported that Chinese regulators were planning to impose a 30 percent limit on the proportion of foreign TV content allowed on video streaming sites.

    “I would say it’s the usual cycle,” said Mark Natkin, managing director of Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting. “The regulator comes out with some regulations, but leaves them a little vague.”

    This leads to a situation where the industry being regulated will push back until their actions are too far off the originally issued regulation, so the regulator will reiterate or add new requirements or deadlines, said Natkin.

    Some industry experts think that the attention from SAPPRFT can be drawn back to traditional broadcasters, whose advertising businesses have suffered as people switch to watching programs online.(SD-Agencies)