Over time, the ban on movie theaters was counteracted by the introduction of satellite television and video downloads, as well as by Saudis regularly visiting nearby Dubai and Bahrain where they could go to public cinemas freely. As citizens tried to circumvent some of these restrictions, the Saudi government lessened their regulations, but maintained some level of censorship. The government initially banned ownership of satellite television receivers in 1994"." However, after an increasingly large percentage of the population bought satellite receivers and subscribed to various programming packages, the Saudi government grew more willing to tolerate satellite television as long as the programming content was not pornographic, critical of the Saudi government or Islam.