中国禁止电视剧插播广告 China bans TV ads during dramas and films

China has banned advertisements during dramas and movies on television in the Communist party’s latest move to assert control over the country’s increasingly commercial media industry.

中国已禁止全国各电视台在播出电视剧和电影时在中间插播广告，这是中国共产党加强控制国内日趋商业化的媒体行业的最新举动。

The rules, which come into effect in January, ban TV stations from running ads during films and drama episodes that run for 45 minutes or more.

将从明年1月起实行的新规定，禁止各电视台在播出45分钟或更长的影视剧时以任何形式在中间插播广告。

Analysts said they could slow the world’s fastest-growing big advertising market next year, as the party’s media campaign starts to have a commercial impact, or divert TV ad budgets to other media.

分析师们表示，随着中共的媒体运动开始产生商业影响，这些规定可能会在明年令这个世界上增长最快的大型广告市场放缓，或导致电视广告预算分流至其它媒体。

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, an arm of the propaganda department, has over the past two years stepped up its meddling in TV networks’ operations.

受中共中央宣传部领导的中国国家广播电影电视总局，过去两年来加强了对全国各电视台运营的干涉。

In 2010, it cut the amount of ads stations could broadcast during prime time by a quarter. This year, it pushed networks to cut entertainment programming in favour of morally edifying shows. Earlier this year the regulator forced Hunan TV, China’s most commercially successful provincial broadcaster, to take Supergirl, the nation’s first and most successful talent show, off air. Officials told the broadcaster that entertainment should take a back seat to “values, responsibility and quality”.

2010年，广电总局将电视台在黄金时段可以播出的广告数量减少了四分之一。今年，广电总局又推动各电视台减少娱乐节目，转而开办道德建设栏目。今年早些时候，该监管机构迫使中国在商业上最成功的省级电视台湖南卫视停播《超级女声》，它是中国首个、同时也是最成功的选秀节目。官员们对湖南卫视表示，娱乐应当服从价值、责任和质量的要求。

Analysts said the new rules could throw the industry into disarray. Zhao Yihe, head of research at Charm Communications, one of China’s leading advertising agencies, said they were “not going to be a lethal blow” to TV stations, but that they would hurt their ability to make money.

分析师们表示，新规定可能会使电视行业陷入混乱。中国领先的广告代理公司昌荣传播(Charm Communications)的研究主管赵一鹤表示，这些规定“不至于（对电视台）造成致命打击”，但它们将影响电视台的盈利能力。

“I expect this to shave one or two percentage points off the growth rate of TV advertising next year, which we originally forecast to be about 15 per cent,” said Mr Zhao.

“我预期这将使明年电视广告增长率损失一两个百分点，我们原先预测增长率将达到大约15%，”赵一鹤表示。

GroupM, the world’s largest media investment management group, predicts that China’s television ad spending will hit Rmb201bn ($31.4bn) this year, up 13 per cent from last year.

全球最大的媒体投资管理集团群邑(GroupM)预测，中国电视广告支出今年将增至2010亿元人民币（合314亿美元），同比增长13%。

However, Seth Grossman, managing director of Carat China, said the Aegis-owned media agency had not changed its 11.8 per cent growth forecast for the whole Chinese ad market in 2012 because advertisers were likely to move money to other Chinese media.

不过，安吉斯集团(Aegis)旗下媒体机构——凯络中国(Carat China)的董事总经理郭哲思(Seth Grossman)表示，凯络中国并未改变自己的预测，即2012年整个中国广告市场将增长11.8%，因为广告客户很可能把经费投向其它中国媒体。

“The first impact will be on [TV ad] pricing. China is still a very high demand environment, and that’s a classic inflationary pressure. This doesn’t take money out of the Chinese advertising market. It will go elsewhere,” he said, predicting benefits for local television channels, online video outlets and outdoor advertising companies.

“最先受影响的将是（电视广告）定价。中国仍是一个需求很高的环境，而那是经典的通胀压力。此举不会导致中国广告市场流失金钱。那些钱会流向其它媒体，”他表示。郭哲思预测，地方电视频道、在线视频公司以及户外广告公司将会获益。

Domestic companies are the biggest spenders on Chinese TV ads, but some foreign brands like Nike, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Sony are also present. Mr Zhao said the new regulations would create short term chaos as TV networks renegotiate advertising slots that were auctioned off as recently as this month.

国内企业是中国电视广告的最大支出者，但一些外国品牌如耐克(Nike)、丰田(Toyota)、可口可乐(Coca-Cola)、宝洁(P&G)和索尼(Sony)也经常在中国投放电视广告。赵一鹤表示，新规定将带来短期混乱，因为各电视台需要重新谈判本月刚刚拍卖出去的插播广告。