Over the past two decades, China's television programming has
experienced unprecedented expansion. Today, the TV industry has
entered a stage of heated competition, as more and more domestic
and international media players are entering the Chinese
market.
At present, China's television coverage has reached 94 percent
of the population. This huge TV market is shared by one national
and 31 provincial TV stations, as well as a few international media
groups. Given the size of China's population, huge opportunities
are up for grabs.
However, Chinese TV competitors are also faced with greater
competition both from within the industry and from the boom in new
media such as the internet, mobile phone TV, cyber TV, and internet
protocol, or IP TV.
Hu Zhanfan, deputy director general of the State Administration
of Radio, Film and Television, explained to CRI the general state
of China's TV media. He says most of China's TV stations are faring
relatively well, as a result of numerous competitive measures
undertaken.
"In recent years, TV stations have accelerated their reforms by
diversifying programs, and introducing new equipment and innovative
methods of management. In response to the challenges from both
domestic and overseas television institutions, each TV station has
been working on their individual development strategies and trying
to produce innovative and original programs to enhance their
audience's loyalty. Overall, the TV industry shows a picture of
great prosperity."
China Central Television, or CCTV, is the only national-level TV
station in the country, famed for its mainstream ideology and
culture. Drawing viewers accounting for nearly half of the national
population each day, CCTV features well-known programs such as
"News Broadcast" and "Focus" aired in primetime, and popular
theatrical programs such as "The Same Song" and "Happy China
Tour".
As a flagship domestic TV station, CCTV is famous for its
program quality. Only the best productions with high audience
ratings are allowed on air.
CCTV President Zhao Huayong says his station will continue to
expand its program variety and sharpen the features of various
channels to enhance their competitive edge.
"To cater to different audience needs, we've professionalized
our channels to make each of them distinctive. Since 1999, we have
patterned our station into one comprehensive channel and 15 other
specialized channels. They co-ordinate with each other so that our
programs can cover both home and abroad. In addition, we have
opened ten fee-based digital channels, and two other relay TV
stations overseas. Now we have over 400 TV programs and our signals
cover the whole world. We have launched TV services in 120
countries and regions."
While not as financially powerful as CCTV, many local TV
stations have also formulated their own expansion strategies,
resorting to innovative entertainment programs to increase their
audience ratings and advertising income.
Hunan Provincial Satellite TV station is a pioneer in this
respect. In 1997, the satellite TV station first produced its
theatrical entertainment program called "Happy Camp." The program
features a combination of bold and casual hosting styles by a pair
of young hosts, as well as the participation of audience members
and a large number of celebrities. "Happy Camp" has refreshed
entertainment programming in China and the "Happy Whirlwind" soon
swept across the country to become strong competition for CCTV's
entertainment programs.
In 2005, Hunan Satellite TV staged a popular reality show, the
"Super Voice Girl" singing contest. The success of the contestants
depended on marks given by judges, votes from the on-site audience,
and mobile phone text messages of support from TV viewers. The
program lasted a few months, but the large amount of audience
involvement made it one of the most favored programs among the
public and advertisers.
Both "Happy Camp" and "Super Girl" instantly became a source for
imitation by other TV stations. Referring to this phenomenon,
professor Yin Hong from the Film, Television and Communication
Department at Tsinghua University had this to say:
"The appearance of the 'Super Girl' singing contest has brought
another whirlwind for reality shows. This is a rare phenomenon in
recent years that a TV program would attract much social attention.
Of course, the phenomenon is also a product of global influence,
which means it was inspired by other overseas programs of the same
kind. This indicates that the innovation of Chinese television
industry is in the frame of globalization, and is seeking its own
way of improving. The industry has shown great vitality.”
On the other hand, Professor Yin Hong also explained how the
trend of TV stations to follow suit with reality shows indicates
that Chinese TV stations are weak in terms of program originality.
He says this is one area in which domestic TV media still needs to
improve.
Overall, the performance of the Chinese television industry has
improved greatly. This can be seen in the comments from an audience
member, Collin Ma, a student at Peking University.
"I think sports programs in China are quite good. Actually
there's a special channel for that and we can watch sports
activities from all over the world in time. But as for
entertainment programs, I think the most important and most
essential thing for Chinese TV players to do is to be creative. I
like CCTV II ‘Jianbao’ program very much. Actually my father and I
are big fans of that. We can not only learn something about the
antiques and collection knowledge about it. For TV show I'd rather
say there’re some amazing TV shows recently, but I think we can all
see the problems that too many TV shows are about the Qing Dynasty
or policemen."
Meanwhile, Chinese TV stations also have to face the challenge
posed by the presence of international media. At present,
international media players have been allowed to participate in
program production in China, and the number of foreign TV services
in China has reached over 30 channels. This means that foreign
movies, soap operas, animation films, live coverage of
international sports events, and other featured documentaries are
all easily accessible to Chinese audiences.
However, the international media presence does not only mean
competition. For some domestic TV media, it also brings along some
opportunities.
ESPN STAR Sports, which encompasses the world's leading cable
and satellite broadcasters of sports events, has cooperated with
several Chinese TV stations in various areas. This is what Jamie
Davis, Managing Director of ESPN STAR Sports said during the China
International Radio and Television Exposition not long ago.
"When I come back I get to watch all the changes constantly
happening in the media industry in China. Its steady growth and
improvement is the program production and the television
presentation, and in the variety of programs being offered by the
local mainland channels as well. I actually think that's a great
opportunity, because what it's doing is expanding the universe of
people in China who are interested in watching TV. And it allows us
to be able to add Mandarin language and more localized programs to
be able to serve that audience."
When opportunity knocks, challenges are sure to follow. But
those TV stations that grasp these opportunities and focus on the
needs of their audiences are sure to have great market
success.?
(CRI October 26, 2006)
