Chinese TV show hits high note with global deal

The recent news that China's popular new TV talent show, Sing My Song, will soon be beamed into households all over the word should give the Chinese confidence in the creativity of its TV producers, an expert says.

Xiang Xiaowei, cultural counselor at the Chinese embassy in London, has welcomed the news that ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) of Britain has signed a landmark deal to distribute Sing My Song to the global TV market. ITV Studios will also produce a UK version in the next two years.

This is the first time that an original Chinese talent show format has been picked up for international distribution.

"It is an important breakthrough for us," Xiang says, adding that Sing My Song takes the talent show genre in a new direction, highlighting the musical creativity of the contestants as well as finding new stars.

Sing My Song is a studio-based music contest, which looks for the best original songs in China. Four of the music industry's most accomplished singer-songwriters provide expertise as producer-judges, giving feedback and guidance to the contestants. The judges also have an important goal: each is scouting for songs to be part of their own original music album.

The competition uncovers singer-songwriters who have the talent to compose and perform their own songs.

The show was created by Star China's subsidiary entertainment program production company, Starry Productions of Shanghai. Star China is a media entertainment group with businesses ranging from TV production, broadcasting, filmmaking, artist management, and music and concert production.

Tian Ming, CEO of Starry Productions, stressed in a recent interview that, with its Chinese characteristics, the show is spreading Chinese culture and expressing the nation's confidence, and that this has a lot to do with its popularity.

Sing My Song has aired on CCTV-3, a national channel, since January. It attracted 480 million viewers, with a total audience share of 37 percent, and CCTV-3's slot ratings increasing 59 percent year-on-year, according to CSM Media Research, China's leading audience measurement organization.

In China, downloads of the original songs have confirmed the popularity of the music and turned the show into a cultural phenomenon, extending its life beyond its original season.

Ratings success and high levels of audience engagement with the show on social media have illustrated the appeal, Xiang says.

Television is still an emerging industry in China. In recent years, the main TV stations have introduced many variety show formats from the United States, the UK and South Korea. While those shows are popular in China, some critics have argued that Chinese TV producers should try harder to create their own formats.

Xiang says that whatever innovations Chinese TV producers introduce, they are still based on ideas from foreign shows.

"This deal is a fantastic example of the benefits of a British-Chinese creative partnership," says Mike Beale, director of international formats at ITV Studios.

"As a leading TV distributor, ITVS GE has a wealth of experience in distributing some of the world's most popular TV formats around the globe. In Sing My Song, Star China has created a prime-time entertainment show with proven appeal to millions of viewers in the TV business's hottest market."

This success is sure to generate a huge amount of interest from international buyers, Beale says.

ITVS GE is one of the world's leading international TV distribution, home entertainment, publishing, merchandising and licensing businesses. It distributes content across all genres from both its in-house production business, ITV Studios, and in collaboration with producers worldwide.

"ITVS GE has a stellar reputation, and Star China is thrilled it is representing our first original format," says Vivian Yin, chief representative of Star China and vice-president of Starry Productions.

"We entrust Mike and the ITVS GE team to take Sing My Song to all territories and are positive international buyers will enjoy as much success in their region with the format as we enjoy in China."

Apart from its relationship with CCTV, Star China has established ties with Dragon TV, Zhejiang Satellite TV, and Shandong Satellite TV.

Wang Mingjie and Zhou Heran contributed to this story.

zhangchunyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 04/25/2014 page26)