2016 became the "first year of Internet Comprehensive Development". Although the market is prosperous, it cannot be "outspoken"

In this era of creativity, interest and personalization, while online variety shows should meet the diverse needs of online audiences, they should also maintain their cultural taste and ideological connotation, and on this basis, continuously enhance the value of content. Only in this way can we achieve a win-win situation between social and economic benefits.

A few years ago, variety shows were the trump card columns of major TV stations, and video websites often could only choose to buy online broadcast rights. With the emergence of the program form of "pure online variety show"(that is, variety shows only broadcast on the Internet), there have been an endless stream of popular online comprehensive works. The year that has just passed 2016 has been called the "First Year of Online Comprehensive". This year, the network variety show broke out in an all-round way, with richer forms, fuller content and better production. Talk shows, comedies, food, dating, outdoor exploration, idol formation... major video websites have increased their investment in self-made variety shows, deeply cultivated vertical fields, and achieved breakthroughs in content production and commercial value.

At the end of 2014, iQiyi launched "Strange Flower Theory" into a phenomenon-level network synthesis, network variety into the public view. With the dual efforts of professional production team and high capital investment, the production scale and level of network variety show can already compete with TV variety show, and the development of network video payment market also provides more space for content value enhancement for network comprehensive. A video website executive once said that online variety shows have experienced the crude 1.0 era and the 2.0 era when high-quality products have exploded, and are ushering in the era of high-investment and high-quality 3.0 blockbusters.

The natural "Internet gene" of online variety shows makes it have unique charming program characteristics: the audience of online variety shows is younger, mainly born in the 1990s; the program content is set closer to online popular hotspots, and the content is more diversified and The type and theme are more vertical; the scale of online comprehensive production is larger, and it usually presents dense and compact hot topics in a shorter video length; Fragmented communication and interaction are also unique features of online variety shows. The unique gameplay of the Internet such as bullet screens and real-time live broadcasts even adversely affects the direction of the program. In terms of marketing, the diversified marketing chain has been accepted by the audience, and "fancy placement advertising" has even become a highlight of the program.

While rapid development has brought market prosperity, competition in the field of online variety shows has become increasingly fierce. In order to gain clicks and create topics, many programs have begun to attract attention by playing edge shots. At present, talk shows and reality TV programs are the most important types of Internet comprehensive programs, with new attempts in topics, character settings, and program models. However, these two types of programs are superficial and vulgar: it has become a common way to use large-scale, heavy-tasting explosive language and special effects to create jokes, topics, or dramatic conflicts. There are even online talk shows that they are "outspoken" and have extreme and one-sided views; Reality TV programs are false, have too many "show" elements, or are full of vulgar and indecent content to stimulate audiences, or even rely on hyping personal privacy to attract audiences.

For a long time, the content of online variety shows has been self-checked by video websites, the creative environment has been relatively relaxed, and the corresponding regulatory requirements are not as clear as TV programs and movies. On December 20, 2016, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Planning, Construction and Management of Online Original Audiovisual Programs", officially announcing the opening of a "registration system" for online student content. Not only are online students whose pre-production fails to pass the standards are not allowed to be broadcast, and programs that are excessively hyped and have adverse effects after being broadcast will also be removed. Previously, a talk show called "Roast Conference" went offline only three days after its launch because its content was full of pornographic, violent and personal attacks. The social reality show "Beauty and the Best" was also banned. Recently, many online comprehensive programs have been offline. It is foreseeable that the content of online variety shows will gradually embark on the path of formalization.

In this era of creativity, interest and personalization, while online variety shows should meet the diverse needs of online audiences, they should also maintain their cultural taste and ideological connotation, and on this basis, continuously enhance the value of content. Only in this way can we achieve a win-win situation between social and economic benefits.

Editor: Nancy