BEIJING – D’oh! China has banished Homer Simpson, Pokemon and Mickey Mouse from prime time.
Beginning Sept. 1, regulators have barred foreign cartoons from TV from 5 to 8 p.m. in an effort to protect China’s struggling animation studios, news reports said Sunday. The move allows the Monkey King and his Chinese pals to get the top TV viewing hours to themselves.
Foreign cartoons, especially from Japan, are hugely popular with China’s 250 million children and the country’s own animation studios have struggled to compete. Communist leaders are said to be frustrated that so many cartoons are foreign-made, especially after efforts to build up Chinese animation studios.
TV stations have been told to limit foreign programming, stop showing scary movies in prime time and have their hosts dress more conservatively and use fewer English words on the air.
Most cartoons on China Central Television, the national broadcaster, are Chinese-made. But more freewheeling local broadcasters air American shows such as “The Simpsons” and Japanese, South Korean and European cartoons dubbed into Chinese.
In February, regulators banned programs that mix animation with live characters in an apparent effort to protect Chinese studios, which don’t produce such programming. Regulators haven’t released details, but the ban could affect popular children’s TV shows such as “Blue’s Clues” from the United States and Britain’s “Teletubbies.”
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