Satellite TV 400 variety shows have not seen phenomenon level, quantity innovation, high quality has not kept up

In 2016, more than 400 variety shows were launched on provincial satellite TV stations, twice the number in 2015 and a record high. However, there have been no phenomenal programs like "China Dream Show" and "The Voice of China" in the past year. Many variety shows try their best to make the audience laugh. "The audience laughed, but it laughed too cheaply." Li Lan pointed out on the forum that if you get lost in cheap laughter, it will be difficult for variety shows to gain long-term vitality.

the past two years? Careful viewers will find that what dominates the TV is not TV series or advertisements, but various variety shows. This intuitive feeling was confirmed at the "2017 Media Internal Reference Variety Summit Forum" held on January 13. The "Research Report on Media Internal Reference TV Variety, Online Comprehensive, and Live Variety Variety" released by the forum shows that in 2016, more than 400 variety shows were launched on provincial satellite TV stations, twice the number in 2015, setting a record high. However, there have been no phenomenal programs like "China Dream Show" and "The Voice of China" in the past year. Many variety shows try their best to make the audience laugh. "The audience laughed, but it laughed too cheaply." Li Lan, director of the Policy Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, pointed out at the forum that if you get lost in cheap laughter, it will be difficult for variety shows to gain long-term vitality.

The model relies on the homogeneous capital of guests

to disrupt the situation.

"After years of rummaging, we have imitated all the program models that can be imitated abroad." Xia Chen 'an, former director of Zhejiang Satellite TV and executive director of the Internet Video Research Center of Communication University of China, who has created phenomenal variety shows such as "The Voice of China" and "The Dream Show of China," pointed out at the forum that the biggest problem with our variety shows is the lack of originality and excessive reliance on foreign program models. Almost all programs such as "Good Voice","Good Singer","Running Uncle" and "Running Aunt" that the audience is familiar with are introduced from abroad. According to statistics, 72.45% of the copyright to Korean variety shows have been bought out by us. Since most of them imitate foreign program models, in the past year, there has been a chaotic phenomenon of "two sisters, three fathers, and four challenges" on our TV screens.

At the same time, guests on variety shows have also become highly homogeneous. According to media statistics, actor Xue Zhiqian took on 31 variety shows last year, and singer Da Zhang Wei took on 29 variety shows last year. Many program guests were either at the recording site or on their way to the recording site. Many viewers reported that when turning on the TV, there were always a few "old faces" on many variety shows. The same guest "gags" in different programs and uses the same routine. Watching too much "inevitably makes people boring".

In addition to more than 400 programs on provincial satellite TV last year, various video websites also launched 111 online variety shows, an increase of 15.6% from 2015. The production cost of each variety show ranges from thirty to fifty million yuan to one to two hundred million yuan. Where does the money come from? There are capital behind many programs.

"Compared with film and television dramas, variety shows are more like 'fast-moving consumer products'. A season of programs is broadcast in a few months. It is not like film and television dramas that can be used as derivatives and can extend the industrial chain. The revenue of variety shows basically depends on the advertisements during broadcast." Xia Chen 'an said,"Capital requires a return, and the faster the return, the better. So now there is a rule for variety show production-before the show is launched, the investor must first ask the production team whether the advertising has been implemented."

Therefore, under the pressure of "rapid returns", variety show producers would rather spend a lot of money to buy mature foreign program models than spend a few years on original research and development. They would rather invite "popular""familiar faces" as guests than try to use "amateur people". At the same time, in order to increase ratings, many programs continue to use vulgar or even vulgar content to attract attention, and go further and further on the road of selling cheap laughter.

In

order

to standardize the creation and broadcast of variety shows, relevant departments introduced a series of control measures last year. Under the dual pressure of the market and policies, some organizations and production personnel were a little confused and even complained. According to Gao Changli, director of the Propaganda and Management Department of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the heads of many TV stations and production organizations ask him "what should the program be done" every time they see him.

At this forum, Li Lan once again mentioned the requirements put forward by Nie Chenxi, director of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, for variety shows at the end of last year, that is, content is the king, direction is the soul, and innovation is the most important. In her view, this should be the principle and bottom line that all variety shows must adhere to. For some programs that do not follow the policy and try to play the edge, she warns that "walking at night for a long time will lead to ghosts." Gao Changli suggested that program producers show the program to their children before launching the program to the market. That way, they can best test whether the program is healthy or vulgar. "If we don't want to show it to our own children, why should we bring it to the market and let other people's children see it?"

While abiding by policies and adhering to guidance, how can we stand out in market competition? In the view of senior media person Wen Jing, with the pattern of communication channels already set, there will be a content war next. Therefore, different variety shows must find segmented markets and provide accurate content. For example, the "Media Internal Reference TV Variety, Online Comprehensive, and Live Variety Survey Report" shows that there are two types of loyal audiences for online variety shows, namely,"post-95s" and married women, of which the latter account for 60% of the total audience. However, for a long time, the producers have only focused on the "post-90s" and have not subdivided them into "pre-95s" and "post-95s", let alone expect that there are so many married women in the online audience. Therefore, under the situation of vertical segmentation of the industry, program production organizations entering the market need to quickly find their own position.

In addition, the current involvement of capital in variety shows is at a stage of growth and lacks planning. If capital cannot invest in good content, it will only lower the lower limit of content and ultimately affect the return on capital. In Xia Chen 'an's view, it is necessary to effectively graft capital and content, so that content and the market can keep pace. Nowadays, many content production teams do not understand capital operations, and capital institutions do not understand content production, so there is an urgent need for "middlemen" who understand both content and capital to bring them together. Xia Chen 'an said he and his team are doing something like this.

Editor: yvette