Radio and Television removes TV apps from shelves: industry and users in a lose-lose situation

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has once again stepped up its supervision of TV boxes and video websites.

Multiple sources confirmed that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television summoned various Internet video companies and demanded that all TV apps developed by all video websites be removed from the shelves within this week. If rectification is not made by next week, their Internet audio-visual licenses will be revoked and their servers will be shut down .

Youku, iQiyi, Tencent Video and other related companies have confirmed the above news on different occasions and stated that they will strictly abide by national policies and regulations and remove related products from the shelves.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused an uproar in the industry. Many users and industry insiders said that removing TV apps from the shelves would deal a serious blow to the rapidly developing smart TV and set-top box industries, and both the industry and users would fall into a "lose-lose" dilemma.

Regulatory measures are tightened

In fact, the removal of TV apps is just a continuation of a series of recent regulatory policies by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. In July, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a notice to punish a number of licensees and video websites.

In its notice, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television stated that Wasu's "Tmall Magic Box" carries video apps such as iQiyi, Sohu Youku, as well as video aggregation software and browsers such as TV Cat, Taijie Video, and Rabbit Video. It allows politically harmful, obscene, vulgar and infringing programs to enter televisions in large quantities and provides technical support and channels, which seriously violates relevant policies.

BesTV carries commercial video apps such as Youku, which provide technical support channels for a large number of foreign film and television dramas that have not been approved by the state, as well as micro-films, web dramas and other programs containing pornographic content to enter televisions, seriously violating relevant policies.

"These are further implementation of Document No. 181 of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, not new policies." Bao Ran, a member of the Expert Committee of the China Interactive Media Industry Alliance, explained to Sina Technology that according to the "Operation and Management Requirements for Institutions Holding Internet TV Licenses" (known as Document No. 181 in the industry) issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television in 2011, Internet TV integration platforms cannot link to websites established on the public Internet, and cannot directly provide content on the public Internet to users.

The above document requires that set-top boxes and smart TVs must choose to connect to legal content service platforms established by Internet TV content service agencies approved by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Currently, only seven platforms have passed the acceptance of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, namely: CNTV, BesTV, Southern Media, Wasu, CIBN of China International Radio and Television, Hunan Radio and Television, and CNBN of China National Radio.

Since last year, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has stepped up its supervision of the television industry, from requiring TV boxes to cooperate with licensees, to strictly investigating violations of broadcast control platforms, to the recent ban on the installation of third-party applications, to the requirement for online dramas and American dramas to obtain a license before they can be shown on TV screens, to the current removal of TV apps.

In the entire Internet TV industry, there are four types of companies. The first is large video websites, which have copyrighted content and strong brands. The second is aggregation apps, which are mainly startups. They have no content themselves and rely on integrating content from large video websites. The third is terminal manufacturers, including boxes and smart TVs. The fourth is the seven licensees mentioned above.

Many industry insiders believe that the strict control of radio and television will inevitably lead to a major reshuffle in the industry. Large video websites have reduced their investment and entered a wait-and-see mode; aggregation apps are seeking transformation, either being incorporated or turning to other directions; terminal manufacturers are either becoming more and more formal, and a few box manufacturers are going into the sea and becoming counterfeit; and the seven license holders are the only ones who benefit.

"Return to the pre-liberation era overnight"

You Wenkui, former head of CNTV's Future TV Strategy Development Department, believes that TV screens have always been a propaganda platform for radio and television, not a market-oriented media platform. Video websites need a separate license to enter this field, so they will be removed from the shelves this time. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's ban on video website apps is politically correct and is a management style with Chinese characteristics.

"There is no room for maneuver for video websites, they have to give up." You Wenkui said that the PC licenses of various video websites were previously issued by the General Administration. If they take a roundabout way to launch a video APP, the video website's license is at risk of being completely revoked, and no website should dare to try it.

"It's like going back to the days before liberation." A senior person in the video industry described the new regulation in this way. "In fact, the previous regulation of radio and television was already very strict, and the high-quality content that can enter smart TVs and set-top boxes is getting less and less, so users have to find all kinds of ways to install third-party applications."

"On the one hand, there is a strong demand for content from users, and on the other hand, the licensees are slow to warm up. So far, only three of the seven licensees, CNTV, Wasu and BesTV, have really started, while CIBN and CNBN don't even have a product on the market." He said that the content and services provided by the licensees are far from meeting the needs of the market and users, and this is the root cause of the repeated failures of various parties to break through supervision.

"This time, the regulatory approach of radio and television can be described as cutting off the source of the problem. It directly prohibits third-party video websites from developing TV apps. This rough, one-size-fits-all regulatory approach is inconsistent with the current trend of streamlining administration and delegating power." The above person said.

There are various ways to circumvent regulation

Driven by strong user demand, manufacturers have been trying different ways to circumvent regulation.

"Although the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television does not allow manufacturers to install video apps by default, manufacturers generally teach users how to install them through the community." The head of a TV box manufacturer told Sina Technology that relying on the community to guide users to install third-party applications has become the "standard" in the box industry. In the official forums of mainstream box manufacturers such as Xiaomi Box, LeTV Box and PPBOX, tutorials like "hand-in-hand teaching you how to install third-party applications" are everywhere.

Sina Technology found that in the product packaging of a TV box manufacturer, in addition to the standard manual, there was also a small piece of paper of "unknown origin" with the words "If you want to explore more gameplay, please go to the official forum of XXX" and the forum address. Some box manufacturers also directly put a QR code in the manual, and after scanning the QR code, you can get a detailed installation guide.

A technical director of a video website told Sina Technology that the "screen projection function" is now very mature. Almost all TV boxes and smart TVs on the market have this function by default. Users do not need to install any APP on the TV. They only need to click the "cast" button on the video website client to project the video to the TV. "Next, we will continue to strengthen the screen projection function to solve the problem of users watching videos on TV." The director said.

For hardware manufacturers, there is a more "thorough" solution - not to make "TV boxes" but to transform them into "living room computers". It is reported that some box manufacturers in Shenzhen have begun to transform TV boxes into miniature quasi-PCs equipped with operating systems such as "Android, Windows 8, Ubuntu", etc.

According to relevant regulatory provisions, PCs are not under the supervision of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. Instead, the regulatory authority belongs to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Computers only need to undergo 3C certification in accordance with computer production regulations before they can be put on the market, eliminating the need for content broadcast control management.

The head of a box manufacturer in Shenzhen told Sina Technology that the company's living room computer uses an Intel chip and has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for filing. According to the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it is filed as a 3C Mini PC category and is expected to be officially launched soon. However, from the appearance, this living room computer is very similar to a TV box.

For video websites, some details have begun to change in order to avoid provoking government departments. Youku , one of the largest video websites in China, quietly changed the name of its "Youku TV version" developed for TV to "Youku XL version". Some video application developers clearly marked "This application is specially developed for tablets and is not allowed to be used on TV" on the software interface, but in fact, since tablets and TV boxes are all based on Android systems, these applications can be used normally on TV.

The industry and users are in a lose-lose situation

A senior person in the TV box industry said that although the built-in content on the boxes is supported by the license holders, the review of the content and the control of the bandwidth have nothing to do with the license holders. "After the ban is issued, the video website APP will be completely banned from the box and TV channels, but the SARFT cannot intervene in the spontaneous behavior of users, such as self-installation of APPs."

The person said that video websites can only contribute content to licensees and share profits with them. The previous strategy of video websites to collect money individually is now impossible.

In the opinion of Xu Jianwen, the editor-in-chief and a senior industry insider, the ban by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television on video website apps is legal and appropriate but inappropriate. "From the perspective of Document No. 181, this approach is fine. But for the development of OTT, this approach basically keeps the Internet away."

"The TV screen is different from other screens. The huge credibility of the TV screen determines that it not only plays an entertainment role, but more importantly, it plays a propaganda role. Therefore, safety is very important." Xu Jianwen said that for radio and television companies protected by radio and television policies, this ban has eased the previous tense atmosphere caused by the attack of the Internet and gained an unprecedentedly broad buffer zone.

"However, if we get used to this non-competitive situation and obey the arrangements of the relevant departments, we will become even more helpless once the situation changes in the future. In the current environment, there is some meaning of planned economy, especially the launch of TVOS. For traditional manufacturers, it is actually a nightmare from a longer-term perspective." Xu Jianwen said.

Xu Jianwen said that judging from the current situation, video websites have only one choice, which is to work for the license holders. All their previous efforts on TV screens have basically been cleared overnight.

A senior industry observer who requested anonymity said, "The radio and television policy is a lose-lose situation for both users and the industry. On the one hand, users cannot find the content they like on TV, forcing them to switch from TV to tablets and mobile phones, which is extremely unfavorable to the entire radio and television industry. On the industry side, the smart TV and TV box industries that have been booming in recent years have suffered a serious blow, and innovation has been curbed."

"The only beneficiaries are the licensees, cable TV network companies and TV stations protected by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. They are like plants growing in a greenhouse. Without external competition and threats, they have no motivation for development. Once a disruptive moment comes, they will lose the ability to survive in the future," said the above person.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.