Celebrity Big Brother gets real as China orders less screen time for overhyped stars
- Aim of crackdown is to prevent young Chinese developing an unhealthy interest in money, celebrity and fame, television regulator says
- Watchdog also restates industry commitment to cap wages for top performers
Chinese celebrities could soon find it harder to get on television after the industry watchdog issued a new directive to terrestrial and online broadcasters designed to curb their passion for star worshipping and hype.
According to a statement published on Friday by the National Radio and Television Administration, television broadcasters and online programme providers should ditch the practice of using celebrities as the primary selling point of their shows and understand the dangers associated with constantly chasing financial gains.
“Production and communication agencies must always put social benefits first while trying to unify social and economic benefits,” it said. “[Programmes] must not be a slave to the market and smell nothing but money.”
The aim of the crackdown is to prevent young Chinese from developing an unhealthy interest in money, celebrity and fame, the regulator said.
All radio and television authorities should exert macro-control over what shows are broadcast so as to reduce the amount of screen time that is given to celebrities and their children on game shows, reality programmes and singing contests, it said.