China has announced a crackdown on television reality shows considered to be too vulgar for the general public.

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The head of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television told an annual conference Friday that too many of the shows are "catering only to the bottom end of the market.

The Xinhua official news service said reality shows have become both popular and numerous in China, although many of them have drawn complaints from viewers who say the contestants are primarily concerned with revealing too much skin.

Director General Wang Taihua vowed his agency would develop content guidelines and carry out on-air monitoring to make the airwaves more respectable.