Sohu, LeTV and other Chinese video streaming portals have taken down several American TV series from their sites as new regulations requiring permits to air foreign films and TV shows come into effect this week.
Some of the shows that were taken off the air include the new Marvel/ABC series "Agent Carter," "Empire," and "Shameless," the Time magazine reported on its website.
In response, streaming sites re-released classic shows that previously garnered huge viewership in China. Sohu released promotional materials for "Lost" and "Prison Break," while Youku, another popular Chinese streaming service, re-launched the superhero drama "Heroes," according to a report by Shanghai Daily on Friday.
Tencent, which recently became HBO's exclusive distributor for online content in the country, also announced the re-release of "Sex and the City."
In an interview published on Wednesday, Youku spokesman Jay Chen refused to comment on whether the portal had been requested to take shows offline, but said that the company offered a wide variety of videos on its platform that served customers with a "balanced mix" of content.
The new regulations, enforced by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), China's official media watchdog, required video streaming sites to apply for publication licenses for imported films and TV series before they are aired online.
Foreign films and TV shows must also be registered to and reviewed by media administrative departments before broadcast, and should make up for only a third of programming on these sites.
The Chinese government has been placing more stringent measures over online content in the country in recent months.
In April 2014, President Xi Jinping initiated the "Cleaning the Web 2014" campaign, which led to the deletion of 110 websites and 3,300 accounts from Chinese social media services such as WeChat and Weibo, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.