With booming economic growth and increasing incomes, Chinese
customers are paying more and more attention to entertainment and
fashion. A neo-entertainment era is coming, reported the latest
survey done by Sinomonitor International, a market watch institute
based in Beijing.
According to the survey, audience ratings of TV programs
covering popular culture, music, travel, romance, leisure and
discovery have grown steadily in recent years along with other
forms of media.
Chinese people are exhibiting stronger interests and higher
self-esteem as witnessed by the entertainment and fashion programs.
Booming interactive reality shows like Super Girls or
Happy Boys, as well as the faces of Chinese showbiz stars
splashed on the covers of Time and Newsweek all
promise a new era of prosperity for the entertainment economy in
China.
Media, as well as platforms and industries revolving around
entertainment will fuel a new hot economic boom here, said the
survey.
Another report indicated that interactivity is the primary
attraction of reality shows. Interestingly, viewers holding
master's degrees or above appear fonder of them than middle school
students.
Among reality, interactivity and plot, the three major traits of
television show programs, 50 percent of the informants surveyed
chose interactivity as the key attraction.
Significantly, sport personalities directly influence ratings,
based on their personal popularity and fans, the report indicates.
Cute, lovely or elegant and noble types win more support than cool
or sporty types. TV personalities projecting goodness and sincerity
are the most popular.
Contrary to public opinion, highly educated audiences adore
reality shows much more than middle school students due to the
great stress placed on Chinese intellectuals. They need these kinds
of light entertainment programs to relax and unwind.
The Chinese Search Activity Research Center joint established by
Baidu (a leading search engine) and Peking University, conducted
the survey. Their assessment is based on in-depth interviews with
some netizens and data from quantitative questionnaires, case
studies and analyses.
(Chinanews.com.cn translated by Li Shen, August 17, 2007)