The influential China Central Television program 315 Evening Gala, which usually exposes business misconduct, was 44 minutes late for the first time on Sunday, triggering widespread speculation online.

The gala has aired promptly at 8 pm on March 15 every year since 1991. Coming in conjunction with International Consumer Rights Day, the program is intended to expose business misconduct and help consumers protect their rights.

Problems with many brands were exposed, and some businesses were suspended as a result. One prominent expose involved the sale of expired food by McDonald's. Another was the supermarket chain Carrefour, which was accused of deceiving consumers by selling expired meat, as well as chicken stripped of feathers that it misidentified as free-range chicken, which sells at a higher price.

The official explanation of the delay from the channel's official micro blog account and its anchors was that another program at the same time, the broadcast of Premier Li Keqiang's news conference, ran longer than usual. So the gala, which was to follow the premier, was 44 minutes late.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, some didn't buy the explanation.

The newspaper reported that the organizer had told the media earlier that this year's gala would "pay special attention" to the Internet, traditional services and daily consumer goods. Some thought it would expose business misconduct in the e-commerce sector.

However, the newspaper said, the key issue of how to protect consumers' rights in online shopping was not mentioned beyond the "leaking of private information". Some said this part was removed because Li spoke highly of e-commerce earlier in the day.

The channel and its programs' neutrality has been questioned by the public since Guo Zhenxi, former director-general of the finance and economics channel, was placed under investigation in June.

Guo was in charge of two influential programs for the channel: 315 Evening Gala and Economic Person of the Year. A report by Global People said that Guo allegedly obtained 2 billion yuan ($320 million) through illegal means while he served as head of the channel for eight years. The report said many companies have had to bribe PR firms controlled by Guo in exchange for the network's silence on company misconduct.