The Internet has completely invaded the Spring Festival Gala: How has traditional TV live broadcast been subverted?

"This is the first time in the history of the Spring Festival Gala that users have been able to fully participate in the interactive process." This was the comment made by host Li Sisi when she announced the WeChat interactive data of the show at the 2015 CCTV Spring Festival Gala last night.

At that time, the Spring Festival Gala had just been going on for an hour, and the audience had completed 857 million interactions through WeChat Shake. After an hour and a half, the number climbed to 2.047 billion times.

During the entire live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala yesterday, users were able to participate in various interactions closely designed with the Spring Festival Gala through WeChat's "Shake". In addition to the more than 500 million yuan in WeChat cash red envelopes sent by WeChat and many brand sponsors, the "Shake" content also included red envelope electronic program guides, New Year's cards for friends, corporate cards, celebrity voice blessings, family photos, and short videos in Moments.

During the red envelope distribution session of the Spring Festival Gala at 10:30 p.m., users shook their WeChat accounts 7.2 billion times, and a total of 120 million WeChat red envelopes were given out.

This in-depth cooperation with WeChat is also the first "intimate contact" between the Spring Festival Gala and the Internet. At a time when the influence of traditional TV programs is declining, the Internet, which is regarded as a destructive force, also injected new vitality into the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Sheep with a new face last night.

The interactive problem of TV stations

The problem that has plagued traditional TV stations for decades is that after the content is produced and broadcast, they do not know who the audience is, and cannot establish an interactive form under the broadcasting model. The rise of the Internet and video websites has made this shortcoming faced by traditional TV stations more prominent. As channels migrate to mobile phones, PCs and other terminals, although most of the content watched by viewers still comes from TV stations, the bond between TV stations and viewers is constantly being severed.

In the past year, TV stations no longer just put content on the Internet and other new media channels, but interacted with viewers through mobile public accounts, QR codes, WeChat and other methods. Watching video content on a PC distracts from TV station ratings, but mobile phone interaction can bring users back. The interaction between mobile phones and TVs has extended traditional TV to the mobile Internet, building a new bridge between traditional TV and the audience user base.

A survey report released by research organization NPD showed that 88% of American households own a "second screen product" other than television, and 87% of entertainment consumers use at least a smartphone or tablet while watching TV, and 47% of users will use other smart devices in their hands to perform some activities based on the program they are watching.

During the World Cup in Brazil last year , CCTV Sports Channel tried to make more changes in live broadcasts and programs, such as the interactive design of the APP for the "5 Must Win" program and the operation of the CCTV5 WeChat service account. Some applications of the WeChat service account on mobile phones, such as lucky draws, games, and live broadcast interactions, use CCTV5 and CCTV5 WeChat accounts to build programs and services into a unified new platform.

The number of fans of CCTV5 WeChat service account exceeded 800,000 during the World Cup operation. The WeChat account allows the TV station to directly extend to the mobile Internet. The TV station uses WeChat, China's largest social media, to complete social communication.

During this year's CCTV Spring Festival Gala, WeChat Shake provided an entertainment form that combines television and games, allowing viewers to participate in TV programs in real time and interact with them by treating TV programs as games through their mobile phones.

Data released by WeChat showed that the total number of WeChat Shake interactions during the Spring Festival Gala reached 11 billion times; WeChat blessings for the Spring Festival Gala were transmitted about 3 trillion kilometers between 185 countries, equivalent to 3.7 million round trips between the earth and the moon - the final data handed over may strengthen CCTV's determination to innovate interactive models on mobile terminals.

All-round impact

In addition to live broadcasts, Internet companies have an all-round impact on TV stations. This time, CCTV opened the live broadcast and on-demand rights of the Spring Festival Gala to video websites such as iQiyi and Tencent Video, while WeChat Moments and Weibo are still the main platforms for real-time comments and complaints about the Spring Festival Gala.

In terms of advertising revenue, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala used to be the main battlefield for traditional companies to promote their products and services, but now more and more Internet companies are also beginning to appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

Companies whose advertisements appeared 10 minutes before the start of yesterday's Spring Festival Gala included Didi, Kuaidi, Vipshop , Ganji, Weidian, Suning.com and many other Internet companies.

Compared with traditional enterprises, Internet companies' products are easier to acquire and convert. The huge audience of the Spring Festival Gala also helps them to cover traditional people who have not been exposed to the Internet in the past. In general, the industry background has been changing rapidly in recent years, so it is not difficult to understand why Spring Festival Gala advertisements are occupied by Internet companies.

For WeChat, leveraging the Spring Festival Gala will not only enhance its brand, but will also help greatly accelerate the user adoption of WeChat payment and scene payment.

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.