Can the separation of production and broadcasting become a panacea for the reform of the radio and television system?

January 5 (Reporter Zhang Zhichang) As one of the hotly debated topics in the internal mechanism reform of radio and television media, the model of separation of production and broadcasting has been expected to be a panacea for solving the problems of radio and television since its introduction . However, under the background of marketization in China, the production and broadcasting of programs are still in the hands of radio and television departments, and the leading role of the market has not yet emerged.

From inside the system to outside the system

The key to the development of the television industry lies in the competition mechanism , and the separation of production and broadcasting leaves the institutional reform to the fair "referee" of the market. The audience will use the remote control in their hands to choose their favorite content and TV stations.

Take Zhejiang Satellite TV's "The Voice of China", which was the first program to achieve true separation of production and broadcasting, as an example. Although "The Voice of China" was introduced by Zhejiang Satellite TV from "The Voice of Holland", Zhejiang Satellite TV entrusted the production of the program to "Canxing Production".

Before Zhejiang Satellite TV's "The Voice of China", the main broadcasting platform of Canxing Production was Dragon TV. On top of the program plan of "The Voice of China" is the "agreement contract" signed between Zhejiang Satellite TV and Canxing Production. The proportion of the TV station and the producer is determined by the ratings of the program. The market-oriented production and broadcasting separation model is more meaningful to explore than the traditional radio and television issues.

Obviously, after the separation of production and broadcasting, content production companies have more and more initiative, while TV stations have gradually evolved into a single broadcasting platform. Producers who have the right to speak on resources and content have become the protagonists in the market game.

From the transfer of "Super Speaker" from Anhui Satellite TV to Beijing Satellite TV, and the transfer of "Goddess' New Clothes" from Hunan Satellite TV to Dragon TV, we can see that the trend of separation of production and broadcasting is sweeping the entire video website and TV station industry. In fact, decentralized radio and television stations do not have an advantage in this mechanism change, but have become followers in the market.

Thoughts behind the separation of production and broadcasting

Regarding the separation of production and broadcasting that is spreading across the industry, Hunan Radio and Television Station Director Lv Huanbin said that Hunan Satellite TV has no intention of introducing this system. Lv Huanbin believes that all programs on Hunan Satellite TV are self-produced, and the IP copyrights are all in its own hands. Developing new media businesses around core content and turning traditional viewers into users is more suitable for the future development of Hunan Satellite TV.

In fact, there are not many TV stations that are capable of separating production and broadcasting. The pursuit of capital and the support of cultural policies have prompted many people to get a piece of the pie in the policy of separation of production and broadcasting. However, the openness of the market determines the large gap between production companies and the choice of content production by TV platforms.

At the same time, the separation of production and broadcasting model has not gotten rid of the traditional advertising revenue model of TV stations. The single source of income and the lack of extended product development have also led to the fact that the separation of production and broadcasting model cannot fully exert its effectiveness during implementation.

Judging from the programs that have been transferred to many platforms, the ownership of copyrights is not clear under the separation of production and broadcasting. The transfer between different TV platforms not only damages the quality of the programs themselves, but also greatly damages the viewing experience of users. Users' perception of programs will no longer start from the TV station as a broadcasting platform, but from the constantly changing remote control.

With the full implementation of the new policy of "one drama, two stars", the demand for content from TV stations is gradually increasing. In particular, the best content supply plan for the time period of 9:20-10:20 in the evening has not been put on the agenda. The TV stations are not fully prepared for this time period, which also proves the shortage of content in the market. Whether the production company can stand out from the crowd depends on its final production level.

The separation of production and broadcasting is undoubtedly an important symbol of the industrialization of radio and television . While it brings numerous high-return investment opportunities to the capital market, its role in promoting the transformation of the radio and television industry cannot be ignored.

However, looking at the overall market-oriented background, it is not difficult to see that whether production and broadcasting are separated in form is not important. The key is that the radio and television industry can introduce a competitive mechanism and change the leadership's decision to the market's decision. This is the true essence of the "separation of production and broadcasting" reform.

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.