The Big Bang Theory, though seemingly a harmless sitcom, was at one point banned in China. The reasons for the decision seemed unclear, especially in light of the fact that productions with “more dangerous” content were still available there.
The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom that has conquered the whole world. The production is known not only to viewers in the United States, where it originated, but also in other countries, including China. The TV series also enjoyed great popularity there, but there was a moment when viewers had to suddenly part with the sitcom.
This happened in 2014, as The Big Bang Theory and several other series (The Good Wife, NCIS and The Practice) were removed from the offerings of the country’s most popular streaming services (Sohu TV, iQiyi and Youku). This seemed all the more strange due to the fact that series featuring “more dangerous” content were still available – these include Breaking Bad and House of Cards.
Why was The Big Bang Theory banned in China?
Why did this happen? A specific reason was never given, however The Times pointed out some possible options that explain why these productions became unavailable. The problem may have been popularity – since the sitcom appeared on Sohu TV in 2009, it has been viewed 1.3 billion times, which is almost equivalent to one view per person in the country. As The Times suggests, the withdrawal of the series may have been a deliberate attack on VOD services that had a lot of freedom at the time.
Prior to 2014, streaming services in China were free to negotiate their contracts with foreign rights holders and make available the programs they wanted without having to get official approval. So it worked differently from traditional television, which was much more controlled.
There were plans to impose similar regulations on Internet TV, which would boil down to the fact that it would be necessary to obtain permission to broadcast a particular program. And the first step towards this was to ban certain series, including The Big Bang Theory in particular.
SARFT, or the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television in China, vaguely explained the reason for the removal of the serials, claiming that the serials were “either out of copyright or violated Clause 16 of the Online Broadcasting Rules, that prohibits pornography, violence, and ‘content that violates China’s constitution, endangers the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, provokes trouble in society, promotes illegal religion, and triggers ethnic hatred”.
The return of The Big Bang Theory to China
Fans demanded the return of The Big Bang Theory. Not immediately, but eventually in 2015 the series became available again, and the ban was withdrawn. However, now under the new rules, each season of the series had to pass inspection and be vetted before it would be made available to the general public in China. In this way, the government could better ensure what foreign content was reaching the people of their country.
