The boss of a Chinese online video site said Monday he believes the sudden banning of four American TV shows does not represent a wider trend, though it's unclear why the shows were targeted.
中国某在线视频网站老板周一称,他相信美剧禁令并不会继续扩大,但美剧下架背后的原因尚不清楚。
"Give me back Sheldon," referring to the socially inept physicist on "The Big Bang Theory," was a popular refrain among social media users angry at the show's disappearance.
网友们纷纷抱怨“还我谢耳朵” 以表达对《生活大爆炸》下架的不满。谢耳朵是中国网友对该剧中二次元物理学家谢尔顿的爱称。
"I believe it's a stand-alone event and it does not represent the policy trend or change toward American TV shows," Charles Zhang, Soho CEO and founder, said on a conference call.
搜狐总裁张朝阳在一次电话会议上表示:“我相信这是一次独立事件,并不能代表国家对引进美剧政策的趋势或改变。
Adding to the mystery, a media and translation agency said Monday it was subtitling "The Big Bang Theory" for the state broadcaster, China Central Television.
此外,一家媒体和翻译机构周一称中央电视台将重新译制《生活大爆炸》,并在央视播出,这让禁令事件愈加扑朔迷离。
An employee of Beijing-based CBM said they were translating the show and would return it to CCTV with captions in Chinese. The employee only gave his surname, Li, and referred to a statement posted on the company's website earlier this month that said the translation of "The Big Bang Theory" was under way and would be shown soon on CCTV.
据北京CBM影视译制机构的一位员工透露,该公司正在译制该剧,完成后将交给央视中文字幕版的《生活大爆炸》。这名李姓员工称,本月该公司网站上已经有声明称《大爆炸》的译制正在进行中,并且很快就会在央视播出。
Sohu's Zhang said he didn't know about the translation for CCTV, and said Sohu had exclusive online rights to the show in mainland China.
张朝阳称他不知道央视译制版的事情,并且坚称搜狐是大陆唯一拥有在线播放该剧版权的网站。
Beijing has in the past allowed video websites to operate with few of the restrictions that movie and TV broadcasters face, possibly to avoid stifling what was seen as a promising high-tech industry.
之前视频网站相较各电视台面临的限制少,可能是为了避免这一颇有前景的高科技产业的发展。