TV show scrapped as govt calls for frugality

A once-popular music TV program has been scrapped after the government called for more frugal entertainment galas.

The program, Tong Yi Shou Ge (The same song), initiated by the China Central Television 13 years ago, will be canceled, Zhong Siqian, a producer of the program, told the West China City Daily on Wednesday.

The program, which featured music stars, cost tens of millions of yuan for each edition, according to a report of Life Week magazine.

In a notice released early this week, five central departments, including the Ministry of Finance, the National Audit Office and the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called for less expensive shows.

The notice said it's forbidden for government agencies and State-owned enterprises to use public money to invite highly paid stars to perform in entertainments.