http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/28/business/28hunan.html?8dpc
Upstart From Chinese Province Masters the Art of TV Titillation
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By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: November 28, 2005
CHANGSHA, China - They called it "The Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest," and for much of the year, this "American Idol" knockoff was one of the hottest shows on Chinese television.
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Natalie Behring for The New York Times
The game show "Who's the Hero?" features contestants in weird stunts.
Natalie Behring for The New York Times
Game shows like "Grand Ceremony for National Game" and "Who's the Hero?," above, are luring viewers and advertising revenues for Hunan TV. The programming successes have made Hunan TV one of the most powerful television properties in China.
By the time it ended in August, more than 400 million viewers had tuned in, making it one of the most-watched shows in China's television history and creating another blockbuster hit for a group of daring television producers here at Hunan TV in south central Hunan Province.
No one really knows why a search for a new female pop star gripped much of the nation. But analysts here say that in addition to capturing the pulse of the nation's increasingly trendy youth, the producers allowed people to do something quite remarkable in China: cast their own vote, albeit for a pop idol.
Here at the headquarters of Hunan TV, on the outskirts of this dusty, provincial capital, the station's producers say their formula for success is simple: creating zany, off-beat and even risqué entertainment programs in a country still dominated by bland and predictable state-run television programming.
"We do a lot of market research," says Li Hao, director of the chief editing department at Hunan TV, which produces the shows. "We try to find out what people like, what they want to watch."
Hunan TV, which only began broadcasting nationally by satellite in 1997, is now one of the most powerful television properties in China, behind only China Central Television, or CCTV, the country's biggest broadcaster, and the Shanghai Media Group.
Hunan TV is flourishing at a time when government support for Chinese television is dwindling, creating a burst of commercialism as stations compete for viewers and advertising dollars. The station has found its niche in producing entertaining and rowdy variety shows, and other satellite stations in China are eagerly copying its formulas.
"They've been at the forefront of making meaningless but entertaining TV for a while, and 'Super Girl' is their climax," says Hung Huang, chief executive of the China Interactive Media Group, or C.I.M.G., a media and publishing company in Beijing. "They're also very good at ripping off American TV shows, like dating shows and game shows, and then reinventing them."
Upstart From Chinese Province Masters the Art of TV Titillation
Sign In to E-Mail This
Printer-Friendly
Single-Page
Reprints
Save Article
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: November 28, 2005
CHANGSHA, China - They called it "The Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest," and for much of the year, this "American Idol" knockoff was one of the hottest shows on Chinese television.
Skip to next paragraph
Natalie Behring for The New York Times
The game show "Who's the Hero?" features contestants in weird stunts.
Natalie Behring for The New York Times
Game shows like "Grand Ceremony for National Game" and "Who's the Hero?," above, are luring viewers and advertising revenues for Hunan TV. The programming successes have made Hunan TV one of the most powerful television properties in China.
By the time it ended in August, more than 400 million viewers had tuned in, making it one of the most-watched shows in China's television history and creating another blockbuster hit for a group of daring television producers here at Hunan TV in south central Hunan Province.
No one really knows why a search for a new female pop star gripped much of the nation. But analysts here say that in addition to capturing the pulse of the nation's increasingly trendy youth, the producers allowed people to do something quite remarkable in China: cast their own vote, albeit for a pop idol.
Here at the headquarters of Hunan TV, on the outskirts of this dusty, provincial capital, the station's producers say their formula for success is simple: creating zany, off-beat and even risqué entertainment programs in a country still dominated by bland and predictable state-run television programming.
"We do a lot of market research," says Li Hao, director of the chief editing department at Hunan TV, which produces the shows. "We try to find out what people like, what they want to watch."
Hunan TV, which only began broadcasting nationally by satellite in 1997, is now one of the most powerful television properties in China, behind only China Central Television, or CCTV, the country's biggest broadcaster, and the Shanghai Media Group.
Hunan TV is flourishing at a time when government support for Chinese television is dwindling, creating a burst of commercialism as stations compete for viewers and advertising dollars. The station has found its niche in producing entertaining and rowdy variety shows, and other satellite stations in China are eagerly copying its formulas.
"They've been at the forefront of making meaningless but entertaining TV for a while, and 'Super Girl' is their climax," says Hung Huang, chief executive of the China Interactive Media Group, or C.I.M.G., a media and publishing company in Beijing. "They're also very good at ripping off American TV shows, like dating shows and game shows, and then reinventing them."
