'NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service' and 'The Practice' are also among American TV shows which Chinese government asks to be removed from video streaming websites.
- Apr 28, 2014
AceShowbiz - Chinese government has once again limited its citizens' access to American entertainment. The Associated Press reports that authorities have banned four popular TV shows from video streaming websites in the Asian country.
A spokeswoman for Youku confirms that it has received notification to remove hit sitcom "The Big Bang Theory", legal drama "The Good Wife", popular crime drama "NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service" and legal drama "The Practice". Among all four series, Youku only offered "The Good Wife".
A senior manager at another site says it received the order to "clean their website" last week. The manager reveals that in addition to those four American TV series, video streaming websites are asked not to show a Chinese slapstick miniseries made by Sohu.
It's unclear why Chinese authorities ask websites not to show those American programs, though they usually ban programs which are deemed too salacious or violent or which infringe copyright laws. Previously, the government banned movies "Skyfall", "Titanic" and "Men in Black 3" in the country.
