Reality TV in China - Essay Example

Reality TV in China Name Institution Reality TV in China Globalization has been an essential component in the context of the 21st century. Globalization refers to the transfer of social, economic, and political factors from one region or nation to another under the influence of the technological advancements. In addition, the impact of globalization has been essential in relation to the social, economic, cultural, and political spheres across the globe. Globalization also affects the media industry and fraternity with reference to the transformation of the essential concepts as well as practices in interaction between the media entities and the target audiences. The globalization of the media has been essential in enabling the diverse viewers to have access to different media content from other parts of the world. This is through adaptation of the similar media concepts prior to implementation of different meanings and concepts with the aim of addressing the needs and preferences of the local entities and audiences. Furthermore, the approach is essential in the development of a great rapport with the natives or locals through integration of the critical elements of the local culture and background to constitute the local content. The main objective of this study is to examine the influence of globalization on the transformation of the television media in China. The development of this report relates to the case study of format adaption with reference to the reality TV in the context of China. Reality TV refers to a television program, which is non-scripted involving real people doing diverse activities on camera. Some of the types of reality TV shows include game shows, talent search, makeovers, and relevant issues. Reality TV shows have been around for more than fifty years. Nevertheless, the popularity of the reality TV peaked in the early 2000s. The two reality TV shows in the United States: Survivor and American idol sparked critical interest in the reality TV from household to household. The shows’ popularity not only reached American households, but also people from all over the world. China had the opportunity to exploit the concept of globalization to interact with other nations in relation to the popularity of the popular talent-search reality show with reference to the American Idol. It is essential to note that the globalization of the media has been associated with the positive and negative elements with reference to the implication on the development of the youth. This is through diverse interactions between the media content and the cultural facets with the aim of relating to the media facets. The concept of globalization has been essential in the transmission of the western culture to the Chinese media industry thus diverse influence on the growth and development of the Chinese youth. It is critical for the youths to subscribe to the content of the media to increase their viewership in relation to the media content and products. Late 1990s oversaw the emergence of the term and concept of the reality TV. Currently, the media market is characterized by the new kind of series boom with its origin in the western region prior to its rapid development to other sections of the globe under the influence of globalization. Furthermore, the media industry also focuses on the provision and presentation of the ‘popular factual television programme’ or ‘documentary hybrids in the context of the western public and academic commentary respectively. These are some of the alternatives or options available for the target audiences to consume within the media industry. The integration of these alternative terms demonstrate the loose application of the concepts to the label of continuum of the tele-visual texts, rather than the set of programmes with similar characteristics with reference to presentation of the ‘real’ people’s life experience. In addition, the approach should integrate combination of the constructed television genres with conventional documentary styles. The approach was critical in enhancing the ability of the diverse backgrounds to subscribe to the contents. It is also ideal for the media practitioners to adopt and implement different styles in the media industry in the development of the content and products to address the needs and preferences of different market segments. Some of the techniques appeals to the youth while other appeal to the older generation and children. This makes it critical for the media practitioners to adopt and incorporate different styles and techniques with the aim of addressing the needs and preferences of different segments across the globe. In the past ten years, there has been a controversial issue in relation to the cultural phenomenon with reference to the reality TV (Jensen, 2007). This cultural phenomenon continues to experience great attention from the media scholars and social commentators across the world. The influence of globalization has been essential in franchising the concept of the reality TV across the globe. For instance, the impact of globalization makes it possible for one popular series to spawn local versions in diverse nations across the globe. This makes the concept of globalization and the essence of reality TV vital components of discussion towards understanding the transformation of the world under the influence of technological advancements. Some of the scholars focus on evaluating the impact of globalization of the media content and industry from a positive perspective. On the other hand, some scholars concentrate on the negative impacts of the globalization of media and the media industry with the aim of addressing the needs of different audiences. Some of the positive impact of the globalization of the media content is the ability of the local or natives to associate with the contents in the course of the consumption of the products. This relates to the influence of the format adaptation to incorporate the culture and beliefs of the local entities in the development of the media content under the essence of globalization. In order to appeal to the relevant target audiences, the series adopts and implements similar format requiring repacking for the marketing purposes in the local markets and industries. The approach increases the accessibility of the media content within the diverse contexts with the aim of addressing the needs and preferences of the local and international markets as well as industries. Local media fraternities focus on utilization of the diverse local versions of the popular hybrid formats in relation to the local flavours and styles relating to the local or native culture. In the current state, the format adaptation is a crucial communication element requiring expertise and skills for the achievement of enriched content of the television media. Furthermore, the globalization production processes continue to reflect two significant characteristics: homogenization and diversification. The format adaptation is a commercial or marketing transaction. It also represents the culture exchange under the influence of globalization techniques and processes. The emergence of the reality TV illustrates the influence of the globalization and diversity in the television market. Globalization has been essential in influencing the Chinese television media since the beginning of the 21st century thus transformation of the media’s interaction with the target audience (Lin, 2007). The importation of the overseas mature television program is a convenient way of creating higher rating as well as attraction of more advertisers within the shortest period possible. The approach also enables the media industry to focus on the reduction of the costs while maximizing the profits and revenues at the end of the financial year in relation to the Chinese media industry. Some of the critical reality TVs in China includes ‘the voice of China’ and ‘China Got Talent’. The concept of globalization has been essential in importation of the concept of such reality TV shows from other nations with many rating records. The format adaptation proves to be a successful case with the ability to reflect the processes of globalization in the television entertainment (Minghua, 2001). In 2009, Canxing Production (owned by STAR Group Limited, China) focused on the importation of the copyright of ‘The Voice’ under the production by Dutch Production Company in the form of Talpa. In the course of this approach, the company had to part with 3 million Yuan for the three-season contract. IPCN Limited as the major broker aided the achievement of the contract or the production deal between the two entities. The broker operates in London and Shanghai with a major interest in the Chinese television market. ‘The Voice of China’ always airs on the Zhejiang Satellite TV demonstrating the adaptation from the original ‘The Voice of Holland’. The same program format has been essential in capturing the hearts as well as concentration of the viewers in more than fifty nations across the world thus the massive influence of the concept of globalization in franchising the media industry and entities. ‘The Voice’ franchise concentrated on the acquisition of the worldwide success by the unique format unlike the previous talent shows on the reality TV contexts. Currently, the show is one of the highest rated shows in relation to the Dutch television with the weekly rating varying between 1.6 million and 3.0 million viewers. On 21 January 2011, the reality TV had the opportunity to air its first season finale, which recorded approximately 3.75 million viewers. In addition, the reality TV had another chance to air its second season’s first episode that had approximately 3.3 million viewers (Moran, 2009). In July 2012, ‘The Voice of China’ had the opportunity to premiere its first season, which had the chance to exploit globalization to prove an instant hit with the ratings. The ratings of the finals reached optimum at 6.1 million viewers. The broadcasting of the finals generated more than 100 million Yuan in the course 4 hours of live broadcasting. This is through generation of the advertising revenue with the opportunity to create the new record of costing 15 seconds commercial with up to 1.16 million Yuan (Murray, 2009). According to the statistics from CSM Media Research, the ratings for the first three episodes of TVOC exceeded 1.5 percent, 2.8 percent, and 3.092 percent respectively topping the nationwide ratings. In addition, it is essential to estimate the total earnings with reference to conservative soft and hard advertising revenues from the first tem episode run of the TVOC on Zhejiang TV between 250 million and 270 million Yuan. The popularity of ‘The Voice of China’ proves to be an illustration of the success of the format adaptation. ‘The Voice’ focused on termination of the relationship between the contestants and shows from the original form after the season finale. The popularity of the reality TV shows relates to the influence of the format adaptation in handling the needs and preferences of the local audiences. This is through relating to their cultural beliefs and ideologies in the formation of the local contents under the influence of the concept of globalization. Format adaptation focuses on franchising of the media content to adapt to the demands and needs of different entities across the world. The approach is also ideal for the society members to learn diverse concepts about other nations from a cultural perspective. China operates on an open door policy, which has been essential in the generation of economic, cultural, and social influences from the West. According to the recent research, the United States is one of the biggest role models for China in relation to the development into a first world economy. China continues to acquire from the United States diverse skills for the development of the economy under the influence of the concept of globalization. These developmental skills and expertise ranges from McDonald’s to Hollywood blockbusters. It is highly evident that the Chinese market and industries have opened up for the American culture as well as mass media. One of the essential illustrations of this influence from the American media industry is the generation of the ‘Super girl’ reality TV show (Rong, 2003). The show acts as an essential example of the American culture influence and impact of the Chinese youth. Nevertheless, there are positive and negative implications of the reality TV shows in relation to the Chinese youth. The effect of globalization tends to influence an increase in the accessibility of the media productions as well as format adaptation in diverse locations across the world (Moris, 2002). Media globalization continues to change and transform the rules of international communication and the nation-state information context. China has been essential in taking the active participation in the globalization of the media industry especially the concept of the reality TV shows. This has affected the local media because of the waves of globalization and cultural influence with reference to the case of the western communities and cultures. In spite of these developments, the developments of the Chinese media and trends have been misunderstood by different entities thus the consistent pursuit for the crackdown on the reality TV shows in the context of China. The obvious concept relates to the essence of manifestation of the facets of globalization in the international exchange of the media products between the local TV industry and the critical external industries in diverse locations across the globe. The role of TV formats programming has been critical in the improvement of conversation between the national and international TV fraternities thus making it indispensable. Cultural appropriation and adaptation are vital in the assessment of the ‘local’ in the course of globalization. Format adaptations come out as incarnation of the global vs. local dichotomy with reference to the products of globalization and reaction of the native or local entities to the globalization process. The appearance of the ‘format franchising’ was essential in the development of the new model of production with the aim of adapting international program concepts for the diverse markets across the globe. On the other hand, the traditional canned programming had the tendency of operating within the licensed regions into other national territories. These entities or traditional approaches had been effective in the context of the Chinese market thus the constant loss of charm in the media industry in China. It is essential to note that the concept of format programming had the ability to facilitate the ‘universal or denationalized program recipe or template’ for the customization of the international programs with the aim of suiting the needs of the local or native citizens. This led to the massive popularity of the format program towards generation of the local content under the influence of globalization of the media industry and content from the western culture. The achievement of the adapting format is aided by the acquisition of the franchise format with the aim of executing international distribution. For instance, 2010 saw the onset of the reality TV show ‘The Voice of Holland. The series had the opportunity to market its format rights in the context of 49 nations inclusive of China, Turkey, South Korea, Russia, Canada, the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom thus the transformation of the program as a global phenomenon. The new adaptation formats have their way of selecting or choosing relevant contestants to appear on the reality TV shows (Mahtaney, 2007). In addition, the concept of the blind audition proves to be an essential component in the global franchising facet. The judges have the tendency of judging the contestants in relation to their vocal performance. This facilitates the differentiation of the voice of China from other relevant talent shows, which might decide to pay attention to the looks as well as background of the contestants. The approach contributes to assuring high program quality with reference to the selection of the good voices (Muller, 2011). The format adaptation has the ability to pre-determine the identities of the coaches constituting the panel judges. The approach has also enabled the new reality TV show in China to enjoy a close approximation of the original. The show focuses on integrating three critical phases: blind audition, battle phase, and life performances applicable in the adaptation of the voice formation. Nevertheless, the form of the reality TV shows in the case of China is insignificant. This is because of the ability of the format adaption to ensure that the content of the reality TV shows is always local or native. According to the latest survey in relation to the Chinese media industry and market, most of the audiences prefer local content because of the tendency of the programs to demonstrate or portray the local cultural beliefs. The society members have the chance to relate to the key content of the media expressing cultural elements. It is also easier for the audiences to comprehend the local content in terms of the shared language as well as common cultural background. For instance, the implementation of the format adaptation is essential in revealing the Chinese faces in the context of the ‘Voice of China’ (Huang, 2014). The reality TV show provides the perfect opportunity for the Chinese contestants to show their expertise and skills. In addition, the essence of the show to select or choose judges and teachers from different parts of China is an illustration of the concept of cultural collectiveness. Moreover, format adaptation is also evident in the stage-lighting effect. The globalization of the media content focuses on achieving the Chinese version of the lighting and contrast with the aim of achieving quality theatrics. The approach also focuses on distinguishing the local products in the Chinese market from the westerner in relation to the skin and hair colours (De Burgh, Rong, & Siming, 2011). Furthermore, the reality TV show focuses on integration of the narrative structures as well as strategies with reference to the soap genre within particular territories in the reality game show format adaptation (Larrea, 2013). Consequently, it is obvious that the highly indigenized traits of the soaps relates to the essence of heart-warming as well as story telling narration techniques in the course of introducing the background of the contestants. Moreover, the emotional interaction of the contestants and the judges in relation to decision and comments is also essential in the development of the quality products under the influence of the formats adaptation. From this perspective, format adaptation has the ability to indigenize the most international formats as well as genres with the aim of appealing to the natives while enjoying the local content. The approach focuses on utilization of the local culture and background information to attract the viewership of the local audiences while transforming international contents under the influence of globalization (Xielin & Peng, 2011). References De Burgh, H., Rong, Z., & Siming, C. (2011). Chinese television 'internationalization' and the search for creativity. Creative Industries Journal, 4(2), 137-154. Huang, Y. (2014). From ‘talent show’ to ‘circusee’: Chinese youth resistant acts and strategies in the Super Girl Voice phenomenon. Critical Arts: A South-North Journal Of Cultural & Media Studies, 28(1), 140-151. Jensen, M. P., (2007). “Television Format Adaptation in a Transnational Perspective: An Australian and Danish Case Study. Retrieved from http://imv.au.dk/~piamj/TV_Format_Adaptation.pdf Larrea, C. (2013). Globalization, regional television and national identity: The case of Vaya Semanita/What a Week. International Journal Of Iberian Studies, 25(2), 81-93. Lin, Y. (2012). “Making Money off Voice of China”. Business Review, Issue 583, page 41- 42. Mahtaney, P. (2007). India, China and Globalization : The Emerging Superpowers and the Future of Economic Development. Basingstoke [England]: Palgrave Macmillan. Minghua, X., (2001). “Globalization, Foreign media, and Local response in China.” Retrieved from http://mediaasiaconference.humanities.curtin.edu.au/pdf/Xu%20Minghua.pdf Moran, A. (2009). “Global franchising, local customizing: The Cultural economy of TV program formats. Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2, 115-125. Moris, N., (2002). “The myth of unadulterated culture meets the threat of imported media”. Media, Culture, and Society, 24 (2): 278-289. Muller, G. (2011). Intervention: Some thoughts on the problem of 'popular/public history' in China. Rethinking History, 15(2), 229-239. Murray, S., Ouellette, L., & American Council of Learned Societies. (2009). Reality TV: Remaking television culture. New York: New York University Press. Rong, L., (2003). “Jing Wai Dian Shi Zheng Duo Nei Di Shi Chang” (Overseas media compete for local media market), Xinhua 21st Feb. Xielin, L., & Peng, C. (2011). Is China's Indigenous Innovation Strategy Compatible with Globalization? Policy Studies (15471349), (61), 1-74. Read More

Furthermore, the media industry also focuses on the provision and presentation of the ‘popular factual television programme’ or ‘documentary hybrids in the context of the western public and academic commentary respectively. These are some of the alternatives or options available for the target audiences to consume within the media industry. The integration of these alternative terms demonstrate the loose application of the concepts to the label of continuum of the tele-visual texts, rather than the set of programmes with similar characteristics with reference to presentation of the ‘real’ people’s life experience.

In addition, the approach should integrate combination of the constructed television genres with conventional documentary styles. The approach was critical in enhancing the ability of the diverse backgrounds to subscribe to the contents. It is also ideal for the media practitioners to adopt and implement different styles in the media industry in the development of the content and products to address the needs and preferences of different market segments. Some of the techniques appeals to the youth while other appeal to the older generation and children.

This makes it critical for the media practitioners to adopt and incorporate different styles and techniques with the aim of addressing the needs and preferences of different segments across the globe. In the past ten years, there has been a controversial issue in relation to the cultural phenomenon with reference to the reality TV (Jensen, 2007). This cultural phenomenon continues to experience great attention from the media scholars and social commentators across the world. The influence of globalization has been essential in franchising the concept of the reality TV across the globe.

For instance, the impact of globalization makes it possible for one popular series to spawn local versions in diverse nations across the globe. This makes the concept of globalization and the essence of reality TV vital components of discussion towards understanding the transformation of the world under the influence of technological advancements. Some of the scholars focus on evaluating the impact of globalization of the media content and industry from a positive perspective. On the other hand, some scholars concentrate on the negative impacts of the globalization of media and the media industry with the aim of addressing the needs of different audiences.

Some of the positive impact of the globalization of the media content is the ability of the local or natives to associate with the contents in the course of the consumption of the products. This relates to the influence of the format adaptation to incorporate the culture and beliefs of the local entities in the development of the media content under the essence of globalization. In order to appeal to the relevant target audiences, the series adopts and implements similar format requiring repacking for the marketing purposes in the local markets and industries.

The approach increases the accessibility of the media content within the diverse contexts with the aim of addressing the needs and preferences of the local and international markets as well as industries. Local media fraternities focus on utilization of the diverse local versions of the popular hybrid formats in relation to the local flavours and styles relating to the local or native culture. In the current state, the format adaptation is a crucial communication element requiring expertise and skills for the achievement of enriched content of the television media.

Furthermore, the globalization production processes continue to reflect two significant characteristics: homogenization and diversification. The format adaptation is a commercial or marketing transaction. It also represents the culture exchange under the influence of globalization techniques and processes. The emergence of the reality TV illustrates the influence of the globalization and diversity in the television market.

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