The industry calls on variety shows to not only develop the "China Model" but also pay attention to "China Connotation"

The summer variety show, with the fiercest viewing competition every year, has already arrived. This year's situation is a bit subtle. Not long ago, just as the summer season was approaching, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued a "Notice on Vigorously Promoting Independent Innovation of Radio and Television Programs", which imposed strict restrictions on the number of variety shows introduced in the model, production and broadcast, and encouraged the production and broadcasting of original programs.

Original title: The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has issued a "strong medicine" restriction model, and the industry has called for the research and development of the "China Model" to pay more attention to "China Connotation"-Variety Reality Show: How difficult is it to "China Original"?

In fact, from the "screen hits""Running Brothers" to "I am a Singer", from the just-launched "Fast Forward 3" to "The Guys with Flowers", most of today's reality TV programs have been imported from foreign copyrights. This notice can be said to have given a "strong dose" to the current chaotic screen. What is the difficulty of the original model? Why are TV people so keen on foreign products? Has the variety screen in China changed from then on? What fields and themes have the potential to carry the banner of "China Originality"?

Many industry insiders believe that in addition to independently developing the "China model", variety shows must also have "China connotation" and enrich the program with traditional culture in order to "win the world."

Interpretation-

The dispute over "The Voice of China" collides with policy regulation, and the risk of "imported products" is worrying.

In this notice, known as the "strictest in history," the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (hereinafter referred to as the "State Administration") requires vigorously promoting independent innovation in radio and television programs and increasing the proportion of independent original programs broadcast in the evening. In principle, the same reality show program will only be broadcast one season within a year, and no more than one program will be introduced during prime time every year. Joint development between China and foreign countries requires China to obtain full intellectual property rights.

According to industry analysis, in this way, the grand occasion of "Running Brothers", which is broadcast two seasons a year, will no longer exist. Starting from the third quarter, the variety screen will usher in an explosion of originality. The one who suffered the most was "The Voice of China", which once set the highest ratings record.

As early as the beginning of this year,"The Voice of China" caused a "change of ownership": the Dutch model party announced that it would cancel the authorization of Canxing Company, which had produced the show for four seasons, and transfer the copyright in China to Tang De Film and Television. In June, when Canxing changed to recording a new original program under the name of "The Voice of China 2016", the Dutch model party and Tangde Film and Television respectively filed a lawsuit against Canxing's program name infringement. The Beijing Intellectual Property Court ruled that Canxing immediately Stop using the program name containing the words "The Voice of China", etc., and Tangde Film and Television also claimed 510 million yuan from Canxing Company.

Although there is no final conclusion on the Chinese name of the program, this notice from the State Administration of China has undoubtedly exacerbated the dispute. Since the notice stipulates that "no more than one new program introduced in overseas copyright mode can be broadcast every year on each TV satellite comprehensive channel, and it cannot be broadcast between 19:30 and 22:30 in the first year," it is tantamount to cutting off the way for Tang De Film and Television's newly produced "The Voice of China" to advance into prime time in its first year. Canxing also had to change the name of the program to "New Songs of China" and broadcast it.

Senior TV producer Xu Benben told reporters that the dispute over "The Voice of China" happened to be at the same time as the State Administration issued a notice. The combination of internal and external factors made the industry more and more vigilant about the risks of introducing models, and the importance and urgency of developing original programs are receiving increasing attention.

"This is a good policy and can cultivate more creative talents. Now the trend of relying on foreign production teams really needs to stop." said a producer who declined to be named.

The current situation-

copycats follow suit, rely on ratings, and the road to originality is

difficult. In fact, the dispute over the name of the "The Voice of China" program not only reflects the dilemma of introducing the model, but also reflects the collective dilemma faced by China-style variety shows: the lack of originality will surely be controlled by others.

"Almost all program models around the world have been bought out by China." Ma Dong, CEO of Miwei Media, who created "The Strange Talks", pointed out. On today's variety shows, from "Running Brothers" and "I am a Singer" to "Evergreen Tree" and "If You Are the One", almost all of the most popular reality TV programs have been imported from foreign copyrights.

Since "China's Got Talent" launched a variety show introduction model in 2010, why have there been fewer and fewer original programs and foreign templates emerged in recent years? From a creative perspective, the problem of insufficient innovation capabilities in the domestic cultural industry no longer needs to be said. From an institutional perspective, an industry insider admitted that this has nothing to do with the competitive environment of China TV. Many programs lack preliminary research, evidence and planning cycles, and situations of "acclimatization" often occur.

"Now ratings determine everything, and the market mechanism and evaluation system are imperfect. The competition is so fierce that no one has the time, energy or money to create a program. The failure to launch a new program may affect your team's operations in the station. Introducing mature foreign program templates has low cost, low risk and high return."

In addition, the lack of domestic copyright awareness also makes it difficult for original programs to progress. Original programs that have been hard-built were copied as soon as they were broadcast. For example,"Smiling" became popular, and "I'm Crazy for Comedy","China Comedy Star", and "Super Comedy Star" rushed forward. The foreign models introduced are often cloned, which dispels the enthusiasm of TV people for originality: "Good Voice" is followed by "Voice of Dreams","Where Are Dad Going" is followed by "Dad is Back", and "Singer" is followed by "All-round Star Wars"...

"The lack of talent is the fundamental problem." Wang Fang, deputy dean of the School of Media and Communications at Nanjing Academy of Arts, said that the training of choreographers in China colleges focuses on technology and teaches students how to shoot and edit, but rarely teaches them creative planning. "A truly healthy TV program environment can be 'brought', but more attention should be paid to research and development, and the two should go hand in hand."

But several producers also mentioned that the current "buy, buy" craze has begun to fade. "On the one hand, there are policy restrictions, on the other hand, domestic teams are gradually maturing, and the market will not blindly believe in foreign models. The most important thing is that all excellent and suitable program models for China are basically sold out."

Outlook-

In addition to the "China Model", there must also be "China Connotation."

After six or seven years of "bringing it in", this notice from the State Administration of China is undoubtedly a boost for TV people to develop original models. Some people say that the future TV variety war may usher in an era when "those who win the original win the world." In recent years, cultural, comedy, language, and music variety shows have performed well.

For example,"Good Songs of China" focuses on exploring original music, and a group of outstanding musicians such as Huo Zun, Mo Xizi Shi, and Su Yunying and original songs such as "Rolling Pearl Curtain" stand out from this platform. The comedy variety show "Smiling Gang" created by the original crew of "Smiling" has given a large number of amateur comedians space to show, and its original exploration of comedy reality shows has been extremely successful. There are also cultural events such as "China Character Dictation Conference","King of Poetry","Good Chinese Poetry","Tang Poetry Festival", etc., which spread the beauty of Chinese to the public in an easy-to-understand form and praised it.

The language reality show "Qi Qi Shuo" broadcast on the Internet platform has received high ratings every season, which makes Ma Dong full of confidence in the "original model." He believes that although the program model is important, it is not everything. "Every program is made up of details. The sense of form is not the decisive factor. No matter how old-fashioned the program is, it can still feel fresh."

Xu Benben said that the success of these variety shows has something in common, that is,"show" and "culture" are closely integrated, with "history" as the core and "show" as the table, complementing each other and complementing each other. They are both "interesting" and "meaningful", adding cultural value to reality TV programs.

"Only when variety shows are upgraded from 'Made in China' to 'Created in China' can they truly rise. To cultivate a 'China form' that attracts the attention of the world, the fundamental way is to deeply cultivate the local land and seek inspiration from traditional culture."

Editor: yvette