Domestic-made soap operas, facing financial problems and stiff competition from South Korean rivals, are struggling for survival, according to producers, but TV stations have said the problem is also one of low quality.
Each year, 5-6 billion yuan (US$604-725 million) is invested in Chinese soaps but only 2 billion yuan (US$242 million) is made by them, causing many producers to cease operations.
Yang Yubing, president of Shanghai Sanjiu Culture Development Company, attributed the troubles to a limited market.
He said only 5,000 serials can be broadcast during peak viewing time, though over 12,000 were produced in 2004.
Ma Zhongjun, producer of Shen Diao Xia Lü, said low profits resulted from the monopolized pricing structures of TV stations and that, while ads aired during soaps produced 44 percent of all advertising revenue, little of this found its way back to producers.
Ma said that, internationally, serials cost stations 44 percent of the advertising revenue raised while they are on air, but in China the figure is less than 20 percent.
Stations can expect to spend 600,000-650,000 yuan (US$72,500-78,500) on a season of a popular serial that could cost 500,000 yuan (US$60,500) to make.
Xu Xiaoming, director of Cable TV Hong Kong, said, "One of the reasons that over 60 percent of producers on the mainland lose money is that a great number of actors ask sky-high prices." Often, 60-70 percent of all investment is spent on the cast.
With high costs and low profits, experts worry that production quality will fall.
Producers also complain that South Korean soaps have impacted heavily on the market, and have asked the government to reduce their broadcast time, leaving more for domestic-made serials.
But most South Korean serials are broadcast after 10 PM and bought for less than 200,000 yuan (US$24,200), in comparison with 800,000 yuan (US$96,600) for peak viewing time programs, and a report on the Chinese TV soap market said more serials are imported from Hong Kong than South Korea.
Experts said South Korean soaps appeal to Chinese audiences because a shared Confucian cultural background means infidelity; one night stands, nudity and sex are less likely to be depicted explicitly.
Wang Guohui, director of the Central Television Center's Film and TV Play Department, said that, when it came to Chinese soaps, there was oversupply in quantity but undersupply in quality.
Xu agreed: "Many excellent series appeared in the 1990s like Yongzheng Empire and Da Zhai Men. But now they lack freshness and originality."
If Chinese TV serial producers are struggling for survival, the survivors are sure to be those who can provide the highest quality programs.
(China.org.cn by Unisumoon, July 12, 2005)
