Conflict And Cooperation:the Power Game Of Global TV Format’s Localization

The cross-border communication of TV format is a reflection of global communication,which is an articulation of global and local cultures.This research analyses the localization of foreign TV format in the perspective of power game theory.It discusses TV format in the context of global and local industry,economy and regulations,and further suggest the potential of TV format’s localization,and states the process of hybridization.The author started field search in Canxing since May to Oct 2015.The field research is including 33 in depth interviews with 22 employees who are in responsible of TV format’s localization.The interviewees are employees of Canxing,Canxing’s outsourcing companies,and other market players.Moreover,the research is also based on the internal confidential information of Canxing,film analysis of key TV formats,and other media resource.The author has intensively attended academic and industrial forum and meetings regarding TV format,trying to bring more updated news and knowledge to enhance this article.This research mainly discusses 3 TV format,including The Voice of China,Infinite Challenge,My little Television.It brings the attention of the invisible power in the production of TV shows.Having acknowledged the importance of media context,it also emphases the strength of media context’s structural power,and their game theory paths,and the ways of interaction caused the impact on local culture.The research shows there are 3 main stages of TV format’s localization,which is including introduction,production and marketing.These stages are influenced by political,economical,cultural and technical power mechanism,and carried out by format initiator,producers,government,broadcaster and commercial sponsors.Among those,political is the most important element during the introduction,and economical element affects production and marketing most.Multi-players in the market determines this is a hybridization.The hybrid phenomenon does not only can be found in context,but also in mechanism.The being of hybrid critics the claim of’Single culture’ by Cultural Imperialism and ’Dominant-obedience’ theory,but also answers the doubts raised by Cultural Pluralist who ignore the structure of the powers.In conclusion,this research illustrates the methods of operation and relations of the main powers in different stages of TV format’s localization.In the stage of Introduction,politics and economy,politics and cultural,politics and technics are all unilateral dependence.Introducing unregulated format,government would not authorize,audience would not be happy to accept,commercial sponsors and production companies may suffer financial losses.It also may bring great challenges to change the unregulated formats.Therefore,the government’s request is also the audience’s cultural request,and commercial sponsors’ economical request,as well as producers’ conscious request.During the introduction,economy and politics,economy and cultural,economy and technics are all two-way interactions.On the one hand,the realization of economic interests depends on the resources and security provided by political power;depends on the audience’s sense of identity by means of cultural proximity,which can turn into a selling point;depends on local production level;On the other hand,economy power interacts actively with political power,and take the juxtaposition strategy which combines ideology and commercial expression to expand political space.Meanwhile,political power acts on political power through transfering the dominant ideology by program’s influence,and learning the advanced experience from the West to improve local productivity.During marketing,economy and politics,economy and cultural,economy and technics are all unilateral dependence.By the technical support from marketing platform and marketing channels,adding cultural elements to get the audience recognition,and avoiding the political risk consciously,to maximize the economic benefits.Though there are different weighting factors among different powers in different stages,as well as ways of interaction,political,economic,cultural and technical powers still form an alliance.With establishment of professional technics,and healthy interactions with regulations,along with replying and respecting cultural differences,and creating recognition of the audience,etc.,it creates different experience of global culture in the same frame.It also cleverly conceals the operating logics behind commercial demands of TV industry cross-country cooperation.