At a time when copycat variety shows are becoming popular, let's see how "The Amazing Race 3" can redeem the reputation of copyrighted variety shows

Recently, with the launch of new seasons of programs such as "Sisters Over Flowers" and "Running Man", a new round of competition among celebrity outdoor reality shows in 2016 has begun among various satellite TV stations and video websites.

Currently, variety show producers focus their efforts on inviting big-name stars, innovating program segments, selecting program recording locations, and creating eye-catching gimmicks. However, as more and more overseas variety shows are introduced into the mainland, copyright, a long-standing issue for domestic variety shows, has once again been pushed to the forefront when "The Amazing Race 3" started filming.

Jin Xing strongly supports Zhang Chaoyang and cheers for the introduction of genuine variety shows

On April 18, at the launch conference of the third season of the global speed racing reality show "The Amazing Race" jointly invested, produced and broadcast by Sohu Video and Shenzhen Satellite TV, "the queen of poisonous tongue" Jin Xing broke out explosive news at the beginning, directly pointing out that a certain satellite TV station's pirated program was unethical: "The most important reason for participating in this program is because it is the only authentic one in China. Now the copyright of domestic variety shows is in chaos, and the audience is confused. We in the industry cannot be confused. I support Zhang Chaoyang in introducing authentic copyrights."

It has been learned that the pirated version of "The Amazing Race" referred to by Jin Xing was produced by Yi Hua, the founder of Sun Moon Star Media, who had participated in the production of the second season of "The Amazing Race". Under the pretext of "changing the name", "upgrade" and "change of ownership", they used the program materials, celebrity portraits and ratings data from the first two seasons without authorization to carry out a series of false propaganda at an advertising promotion and investment conference held by a certain satellite TV station.

The copyright of "The Amazing Race" comes from the American ace reality show "The Amazing Race", which has been on the air for 27 seasons since its launch in 2001. The excellent production and exciting and perfect competition rules that are not inferior to movie levels have made "The Amazing Race" always the flagship of variety shows in the United States, and it has won the "Oscar of Television" Emmy Award for "Best Competitive Reality Show in Primetime". At the same time, the show has nearly 12 overseas versions. Shenzhen Satellite TV and Sohu Video exclusively launched the Chinese version of "The Amazing Race".

PROFILES, the producer of the original American program "The Amazing Race", also issued a statement recently saying: "We will never authorize any platform other than Shenzhen Satellite TV to produce this program." It proves that only Sohu and Shenzhen Satellite TV are the only copyright holders of "The Amazing Race" in China.

According to statistics, in 2014 alone, 35 of the 63 variety shows broadcast in China had copyrights imported from overseas, and many of the others were pirated or knockoff programs under the banner of localization. Although domestic variety show production has experienced a leapfrog development from imitation and knockoff to spending a lot of money to buy copyrights and then to joint production, the problem of piracy has not been avoided so far.

From purchasing copyrights to large-scale productions, impacting the market structure of large variety shows

As Jin Xing said, among the many variety shows, the producers and stars may know very well who is pirated and who is genuine, but the audience is often confused. They only think that the styles and forms of the two variety shows are similar, "Flowers and Youth" and "Sisters Over Flowers", "Informal Talks" and "World Youth Says", "If Love" and "Let's Fall in Love". It is not easy to tell which one is real and which one is fake. The audience will follow which satellite TV station has a strong star lineup and good program effects.

This also leads to the fact that the ratings of some genuine programs are actually lower than those of copycat programs. In this case, in addition to requiring producers, stars, and the industry to exercise self-discipline, how can the copyright importers localize the copyrights they have purchased at a high price and make the programs as attractive as the original programs, so as to completely reverse the situation where copycat variety shows suppress copyright variety shows and copyright variety shows have no way to develop.

The Amazing Race 3 launched this time fully demonstrates the confidence of a big copyright super production. Inheriting the realistic and tense style of European and American variety reality shows, the Chinese version of The Amazing Race pioneered the concept of all-star racing. In terms of star selection, because it is the Olympic year, the producers have launched a super lineup. Liu Xiang and Guo Jingjing and Huo Qigang are both making their debut on a celebrity reality show. The recording locations are also set to be Athens, Barcelona, ​​Rome, Rio de Janeiro and other famous Olympic cities.

The two seasons of the ace variety show have been aired. With its excellent production and exciting design, the show has gained super popularity and reputation. As a co-investor and the exclusive broadcasting platform of the entire network, Sohu Video will also participate in the production process of the show for the first time, creating a new industry model of "investment, production and broadcasting" for copyright variety shows and online videos. It can be seen that whether it is production standards, star lineup, or investment team, "The Amazing Race 3" is on par with "The Amazing Race", or even surpassing it.

At present, in addition to calling for "the industry to establish an industry self-discipline arbitration organization to jointly establish the industry bottom line" and using legal means to protect rights, the competition between copycats and anti-copycats precisely reflects the lack of innovation ability of domestic teams in variety show production. In 2016, more first-tier strong satellite TV stations and video websites increased their investment in variety shows, but if you want to break through in the era of copyright variety shows, increasing innovation is essential.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.