I never knew why it was banned initially.
At the time, the TV stations were all government owned.
There was a time that they aired 24 hours programming. The puppet shows and Ming (short for Fu Jian) opera were popular.
After the oil crises, the TV air time was cut. One and half hours at noon and 6 hours in the evening.
Oh, most of the farmers were watching puppet shows and opera and no one was attending to their farms, I think.