TV apps have been completely blocked, chaos has been rectified and industry rules have been reconstructed

In the final analysis, the integration of television and the Internet is the inevitable result of technological development. The trend of Internet TV's sudden emergence and even subversion of traditional cable TV is irreversible. Multi-screen integration will be the mainstream of future development.

Following a series of rectification storms sweeping the OTT TV industry, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (hereinafter referred to as the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television) recently waved the sword of supervision again. According to sources, on the 18th, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television required all video websites to remove TV apps. If they fail to rectify within the time limit, their Internet audio-visual licenses will be cancelled and servers will be suspended. Looking at the Internet TV industry, strict policies on radio and television are continuing to ferment.

The supervision of TV screens has special characteristics in the ideological field. Mastering the initiative in content integration and operation is the core competitiveness of the triple play era. The emergence of "copycat boxes" highlights weak industry control. These factors have led to the "living room dream" of Internet TV. Frustrated repeatedly. Although the supervision of radio and television is a necessary move, it is not technologically forward-looking. Under the situation of multi-screen integration, technological progress requires supervision to keep pace with the times.

New and old boxes share the same destiny, and new measures for TV OTT supervision have emerged

one after another. Since this year, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has issued intensive supervision orders, putting one "seal" after another on the Internet TV industry. In June, TV boxes became the target of the first round of rectification. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a letter on immediately shutting down illegal video software download channels in Internet TV terminal products, prohibiting TV boxes in Zhejiang and Shanghai from pre-installing unaudited video apps. China Digital Media's "Tmall Magic Box" and BesTV's "Little Red Set-Top Box" were named and required to rectify.

In July, regulatory measures frequently flashed their swords. First, Luo Jianhui, director of the Online Audiovisual Program Management Department of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said at the 3rd China Internet Conference that Internet TV integrated business licenses will no longer be issued, and content service licenses will encourage radio and television institutions at or above the provincial level to apply. This means that video websites and Internet TV manufacturers that want to enter Internet TV must cooperate with the seven licensees of the radio and television department.(CNTV, China Radio International, China People's Radio, Southern Media, China Digital Media, Mango TV, BesTV) cooperation. Subsequently, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television strongly promoted the TVOS system, requiring terminals such as smart TV set-top boxes purchased or integrated developed and installed by cable network companies not to install operating systems other than TVOS. Immediately afterwards, iron-fisted supervision directed directly at the TV box function. The Network Audiovisual Program Management Department of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a document requiring some OTT TV integrated broadcast control platforms to cancel the time-shift and review functions of TV programs directly provided in the integrated platform. At the same time, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television interviewed seven licensees and clarified the requirements for the rectification of Internet TV.

In September, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television once again increased its supervision of video websites. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television requires that the content and style of overseas films and television dramas introduced by all websites should be healthy and progressive, and comply with the relevant requirements of the "Regulations on the Administration of the Introduction and Broadcasting of Overseas TV Programs." Starting from April 1, 2015, unregistered overseas films and television dramas are not allowed to be online. Play. Recently, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television required all video websites to remove TV apps.

In fact, the recent high-pressure "combination punches" launched by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television against TV boxes and video websites are quite similar to the fate of Shanda Box many years ago. As early as October 2005, Shanda released the box product "Broadband Entertainment Computer" and proposed the concept of "Internet content TV". But only half a year later, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued a letter to stop Shanda Box, saying that Shanda had moved Internet content onto TV sets without obtaining a license.

In August 2009, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television made it clear for the first time that Internet content broadcast on TV must be "manageable and controllable." In accordance with this spirit, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued an Internet TV license. In 2011, the "Operation and Management Requirements for Institutions Holding Internet TV Licenses"("No. 181 Document") issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television clearly stipulates that Internet TV integrated platforms cannot be linked to websites established on the public Internet, and cannot be linked to the public Internet. Content is provided directly to users. In fact, this recent series of rectification actions by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is a strengthening and further implementation of the "No. 181 Document".

TV screen supervision reflects the uniqueness of ideology.

Why are TV boxes repeatedly "stopped"? Why is the living room path of Internet content frequently blocked? What is the intention of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to launch a series of heavy blows to rectify OTT? To sum up, we can consider it from three aspects. First, TV screens are unique in terms of ideology and cannot be fully market-oriented. Xu Jianwen, editor-in-chief and industry veteran, said,"TV screens are different from other screens. The huge credibility of TV screens determines that they are not only for entertainment, but more importantly for publicity. Therefore, safety is very important." Therefore, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's supervision of Internet content will inevitably reflect the management style with China characteristics, and its most direct manifestation is the strengthening of supervision.

Second, content has always been regarded by radio and television as the core competitiveness in the era of triple play, which determines that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television must firmly grasp the integration and operation of TV content in its own hands. Since the beginning of this year, the Office of the National Anti-Pornography and Illegal Publications Working Group, the State Internet Information Office, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have jointly organized the "Anti-Pornography and Illegal Publications" campaign. The net net 2014 "operation, and the troubled OTT TV industry is also in urgent need of regulatory intervention. As a result, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has strengthened its review of the content of video websites, with the intention of" knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger ". On the surface, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's comprehensive rectification of TV-based OTT is part of the "Clean Network Action". What is behind it is the signal that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is tightening its supervision on Internet TV and related products. In the past, in integrating with IPTV and the triple play, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has always taken the initiative in content.

Third, in the barbaric growth of the OTT Internet box market, there was indeed a certain chaos in the early stage, which led to the emergence of a large number of "copycat boxes" and poor control situations such as uneven content on Internet TV. According to Zeng Huiming, CEO of China Broadcasting Internet, the sales volume of OTT set-top boxes in the China market last year was about 10 million, and "copycat boxes" that were not docked with the licensees may account for more than 80%. Controllability is the red line for regulatory agencies on the content of Internet TVs and Internet boxes. It can also be seen from "Document No. 181" that the Internet box itself was created through policy loopholes. Given the importance of the cable digital TV set-top box market of more than 200 million yuan, it is reasonable for the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to issue a combination of standardizing licenses, cracking down on piracy, and cleaning up "copycat boxes".

The regulatory model urgently needs to keep pace with the times.

The entire Internet TV industry mainly covers four types of companies: large video websites with copyrighted content and strong brands; aggregation apps that integrate the content of large video websites, mostly startups; TV boxes and smart TV terminal manufacturers;7 licensees. Judging from the current situation, the industry will face a major reshuffle. Under strict policy control, the Internet TV box has been severely damaged, the status of radio and television licensees has become increasingly prominent, TV manufacturers may benefit from the benefits, and aggregation apps are bound to seek transformation...

At the same time, under the regulatory stick of radio and television, Members of the industrial chain will also contemplate more levels of industrial integration. Cooperation between Internet companies and local radio and television departments will inevitably become an industry trend, and video websites may "take sides" with license parties. This starts from the strategic cooperation reached between Tencent and Future TV, to iQiyi's joint establishment of the Internet TV operating joint venture company Galaxy Internet TV Co., Ltd. with China People's Radio and Jiangsu TV, to LeTV's shareholding in Chongqing Radio and Television and Utu's cooperation with Guangdong., all can be proved.

In the final analysis, the integration of television and the Internet is the inevitable result of technological development. The trend of Internet TV's sudden emergence and even subversion of traditional cable TV is irreversible. Multi-screen integration will be the mainstream of future development. In a sense, strengthening supervision of the Internet TV industry has policy legitimacy, but it is not technically forward-looking. It fundamentally reflects that the supervision model needs to be updated urgently. Under the trend of multi-screen integration, the supervision of Internet TV needs to be more relaxed. It is necessary to avoid "one size fits all" and to guard against the inherent contradiction of "chaos when it is released and death when it is managed". We should achieve win-win results through open and effective integrated supervision.