A Study On The Introduction Fever Of TV Formats In The Reality TV Industry In China

Driven by the globalization, the worldwide TV format trade is in a great boom. The way buying overseas TV program formats to produce localized TV program versions has become a popular production pattern of contemporary TV reality show business. And since2012, the reality TV show industry in China has gradually set off a wave of importing foreign TV formats in a legal way.Based on this new background, the study focuses on the recent introduction fever of overseas TV program formats in domestic reality TV industry, tries to analyze both its forming reason and existing problems in depth using qualitative research methods including text and document analysis combining with related cultural theories. Furthermore, this analysis provides some suggestions for the development of Chinese reality TV show industry.This dissertation consists of six parts, as described next.Chapter I brings forward the research origin, background and previous studies, and then raise the main research questions and framework.The second chapter analyzes the differences and advantages of the legal introduction of TV formats in domestic reality TV show business by presenting its historical process.Chapter III is concerned with the case study of the TV program format "The Voice" through comparative analysis between the Chinese version and American version, which reveals how a successful reality TV show coming from foreign TV format properly deals with cultural differences contained in the introduction.Chapter IV explores whether the success of "The Voice" can be universal by comparing the gains and losses of three latest hot Chinese reality TV shows.Chapter V discusses the forming reason and existing problems of the TV format introduction basing on the theories of consumer culture and cultural globalization.The last part concludes the research and further gives some suggestions about the development of Chinese reality TV shows, including:turn "import" to "export" by two steps——firstly achieve positive innovation based on origin formats and sell the innovated version to the Proprietors in turn, secondly export TV formats by our own production and industrialize it.