A group of judges from the International Emmy Awards has visited Shanghai to help select the shows that will be nominated in this year's Best Comedy category.

American situation comedies are a big hit with online video platforms in China. Shows such as "Friends" "The Big Bang Theory" and "Two Broke Girls" draw millions of viewers for each episode. But local productions can't compete.

"The demand for situation comedy in China has been kind of neglected by Chinese TV stations, because comedy is more appealing to young viewers. In the past, traditional TV stations which are also content producers paid more attention to attracting middle aged and old people, so the supply of comedy cannot meet the demand. However, with the rise of new media platforms, more comedy contents have been made as their viewers are younger," said Li Xunyu, judge from 44th International Emmy Awards.

According to a market report by production house Croton Media, more than 2,000 TV dramas were broadcast on Chinese TV stations or online video platforms last year, but only 13% of them were comedies. The ratio is far below the number in America, where one-third of TV productions are comedies. But the situation is changing now that video platforms are producing their own shows.

Last year, letv had a hit with the comedy "Go Princess Go" which went viral as soon as it was released. The 37-episode run was viewed by hundreds of millions of people. But the show was suspended by censors due to sexual content. But one judge from the Emmy Awards panel is still optimistic about the development of comedies in the country.

"Like anything, in the beginning of movies, at the beginning of broadcast television, some wasn't good and it's about finding quality writers, quality producers as you probably see at the media companies here in China, the good quality products start rising to the top. But it's very important that you allow people to experiment with new ideas for comedy. Because what we may think is not quality today but for millenniums they may love it," said Doug Miller, judge from 44th International Emmy Awards.

To compete with online video platforms, traditional media companies are seeking cooperation with experienced producers in the US. A Chinese production company worked with the producers of "Mad About You", a hit American show from the 1990, to create a Chinese version of the show. That show is now a hit for Dragon TV, where it airs every Monday night.

"We are always talking about the lack of professional comedy producers, but I don't think we lack the talent to make comedies. What we really need to solve is to find the appropriate way to organize these talents to ensure the quality of comedies we make. So we can learn from Hollywood and other experienced producers across the world how to set up a mature production flow for comedies," Li said.