China's Netcom accounts for 37% of the global rankings, maintains ingenuity and constantly improves the Netcom ecosystem

In 2016, the fastest-growing areas of the Internet entertainment industry were dramas and variety shows. This year, there were 264 online variety shows in the world, and China's online variety shows accounted for 98.

. After a full year of popularity last year, online variety shows are expanding rapidly. The number of views such as "Strange Talks","Roast Conference","Roundtable" and "Mars Intelligence Agency" has surpassed traditional variety shows. It is reported that the fastest-growing area of the Internet entertainment industry in 2016 was drama and variety shows. This year, there are 264 online variety shows in the world, and China's online variety shows accounted for 98.

However, development has also caused online variety shows to face the "old problems" of the rapid expansion period-prominent homogenization, clusters of stars and high costs, which have begun to choke the "throat" of online variety shows. Many people can't help but reflect: Are online variety shows encountering the same "bottleneck" as traditional variety shows, or have they reached a crossroads of turning?

"Platform differentiation" is the key

. In recent years, innovation has become the core demand of the domestic variety industry. The cooling down of programs in the barbaric growth model has opened a huge opening for innovation. But the question is, how should we innovate?

"Currently, about 77% of the domestic variety market relies on big stars, and 80% relies on foreign models. In particular, online variety shows no essential difference from TV variety shows. They also use traditional media methods to transmit them on the Internet platform." At the recently held 2017 iQiyi World Congress Online Comprehensive Forum, Wang Xiaohui, chief content officer of iQiyi, expressed the importance of "platform differentiation".

Wang Xiaohui believes that online variety shows first mean that the Internet context is different from traditional media acceptance methods and profit models. For example, online interaction, paid membership, etc. are all advantages of the Internet, which also determines the difference between it and "television means" communication.

At the same time, platform differentiation also means that different platforms compete for "traffic". Leng Song, secretary-general of the World Media Research Center of the Institute of Journalism of China Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the value of online variety shows is to "steal leisure time" in any space, which is unmatched by television. This sentence points to the direction of "mobile" communication.

"Video websites should not become upgraded versions of TVs, and online variety shows should not become a remote control for viewers to choose anxious." Leng Song said. With the rise of micro-video and the prosperity of mobile terminals, many online variety shows have targeted the transition from "large-scale production" to "small-scale production". Meeting the audience's more diverse preferences and even personal customization is the advantage of the online variety platform and the future development direction.

What makes online variety shows both "popular cuisine" and "private cuisine"

special is not only the unique characteristics of the platform, but also the differences and subdivision of content. It can be said that the changing composition of the online audience also continues to determine the acceptance orientation of online variety shows.

"Once upon a time, the structure of the main Internet users was younger, but as the Internet population became more diverse, the composition of Internet users has developed in a more balanced direction. This requires us to target various sub-areas and not only make 'popular dishes', but also make 'private cooks'." Wang Xiaohui believes that tapping the needs of different groups will open up a broader production space.

For example, cultural variety shows such as "Seeing Words Like Faces" and "The Reader" that became popular across the country at the beginning of this year have been widely praised by intellectuals and elderly audiences, and are known as a "clear stream" in the variety industry. On the contrary, young audiences born in the 1990s emphasize characteristics such as strong personality, brainstorming, and secondary factors. This undoubtedly provides a good breakthrough for online variety shows to get rid of the "traps" of high cost, star-fighting and homogenization.

"Strong entertainment, emphasis on vertical, youth, high efficiency, and dedication." Jiang Bin, vice president of iQiyi, proposed these five differentiated content of online variety shows. Others believe that the old network feel of small production, large-scale, and rough processing will be upgraded to a new network feel of refinement and deep polishing. In any case, the differences and refinement of audience tastes also determine the maturity of the online variety ecosystem-differentiated innovation is already on the horizon.

The most difficult thing is "maintaining ingenuity" and

"craftsman spirit", or "ingenuity", which have been frequently used in public opinion in recent years. For online variety shows, it is no exception-innovation requires not only a grasp of the general trend, but also the ingenuity of "sharpening a sword in ten years".

"Sometimes, it may take two to three years to polish a program for in-depth follow-up of creative research and development. But not all producers will choose to do this." Leng Song said.

Take the live broadcast of a golf match as an example. Leng Song pointed out that there is no team in China that can follow the first tree all the way on the top of the mountain, and always lose it halfway. In the American competition, the aircraft positions followed well from take-off to landing. Once puzzled, he asked one of the photographers for advice, and the answer was: "I have been doing this job for decades."

"Ingenuity requires environmental support." Wang Gang, deputy general manager of Yuanjing Film and Television Company, believes that the complex market environment often involves people with ingenuity in many issues such as sales and advertising, so the most difficult thing is to "maintain ingenuity." As the trend of separating variety show production and broadcasting becomes more prominent in the new year, the production process will also become more professional, which is undoubtedly good news for "maintaining ingenuity".

To a large extent, maintaining ingenuity also means building a "team". "Compared to polishing programs, we are more inclined to polishing the team." Mou Wei, CEO of Miwei Media, talked about her "polishing" approach,"For example, the" Qi Yan Shuo "team does one program every year, and spend the rest of the time learning and growing to ensure the motivation for self-renewal." This also confirms the important point of "maintaining ingenuity"-practitioners should not just "work hard", but should also leave blank "looking up".

Editor: Mary