Shaping China's Media Landscape

アメリカのテレビ局の中国進出

　西洋文化が中国に浸透したのは別に不思議な事ではなく、上海の街中を歩けば女性服のブティックが並び、「ゴシップガール」ののポスターをショ－ウィンドウに見かける事さえある。

　中国国内で放送が限定されているアメリカのテレビ番組が人気があるのは、中国の若い子達はネットで見ているからですが、中国のメディア市場を見るときに、このオンラインの影響の大きさを見誤るケ－スが多数見られます。

　汚い真実ではありますが、こういう実態を見極める事から始める事がアメリカのテレビが中国市場に参入するに当たり必要な事でしょう。ここでは驚く事ではないのですが、全てはネットから始まっています。アメリカで放送された番組は、直ぐにP2Pでネット上手に入れることが出来ます。

驚く事にネットに掲載された直後から、中国の大学生たちは手作業で翻訳を始めます。そして、より中国的に翻訳されるようになります。数時間後には彼らは中国のP2Pのサイトでこの番組は人気を博する事になります。

　中国政府は明確にこういうサイトを閉鎖する方針で、其の意思を公表しています。確かに中国政府はこういうＰ２Ｐのサイトを閉鎖していますが、中国には「上に政策あれば下に対策あり」という言葉があり、簡単に無視するわけにはいきません。

　こういう現象は、アメリカのテレビ番組が違法に中国市場に入っているという事なのです。なぜこうなるかといえば、中国の消費者が自国の番組に満足しておらず、国営テレビ局は面白い番組を制作できていません。中国には3500ものテレビ局があり、彼らが豊富なコンテンツを求めていると考えるべきです。一方では、数百万人のネットユ－ザ―が13.5インチのPCの画面で質の悪い海外の映像を楽しんでいるのが実態です。

　中国政府は世界のリ－ダ－になるべく動いており、このような違法サイトの摘発もソフトパワ－を見せる機会と捕らえているようです。海賊版や知的財産侵害の問題は他国にとり大きな問題となっており、中国政府は完璧に抑えるように動く事になるでしょう。

　現在の中国市場は非常に非効率な市場となっており、一方中国人は市場が求めるものを見つけ出し、なんとかして市場に供給するようになります。この場合は娯楽ですが、中国のメディア市場が市場ニ－ズに合わせられるようテレビとネットが統合されるようになるでしょう。

　一方、テレビは中国政府の統制下にあり、中国市場の放送局は其の環境から逃げれないこと。しかし、独占的なプラットホ－ムであり続ける事。そして、テレビは未だに広告主にとって最も魅力的な手段である事。テレビ、ネット、そしてモバイルの連携が今後重要になる事。

　これらを踏まえた上で、今後のメディア戦略を考える必要があるでしょう。優くや土豆も従来に比べれヴぁユーザーを向くようになってきました。そして、3Gの導入によりモバイルも可能性があります。


　さてさて、どうなりますかね。コンテンツは従来中国ではお金にならないといわれていました。中国政府の規制により、土豆等もコンテンツ料を払うようになってきましたので、若干ながらも改善していく傾向にあります。

　それ以外にも個人輸入代行とか、様々な日本では考えられない奇妙な中国ビジネスで見られる実態がどこまで、そして、其の程度のスピ－ドで改善していくのでしょうね。

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Shaping China's Media Landscape


It’s no mystery that Western culture has infiltrated its way to the China market. Go down any of the many streets in Shanghai that are lined with little boutiques for women clothing, and don’t be surprised to see, “As seen on ‘Gossip Girl’” plastered across the store window. Also not surprising is anytime our program “Hello! Hollywood” has any mention of “Gossip Girl”, we get outstanding ratings and views on both television and online.



The fact Blake Lively and Ed Westwick (stars of ‘Gossip Girl’) are already household names in China without ever having a single program of ‘Gossip Girl’ on-air is a testament to just how much and to what degree American television has been pervasive in the China market. The reason why is the only way to see these two on-air is online where millions of the Chinese youth spend their time downloading and consuming much of their entertainment today. This underbelly of China’s media market is often overlooked and misunderstood; and has a significant role in how China’s market will evolve and continue to thrive.



Welcome to the Underbelly



I think it’s best to start from the beginning. To lay the dirty truth for what it is and have a no-holds barred attitude towards how American television finds its way to China.



No surprise here, it starts with the Internet. Let’s use NBC’s “Heroes” for purposes of an example. Ten-minutes after the premier in the States, our favorite show is quickly available on the many P2P and BitTorrent sites that roam the world wide web.



With much luck and anticipation, hordes of Chinese college students pull down the program (preferably with Closed Captioning) and start the arduous process of translation and subtitling. Note – this is not some mechanical process that is taken lightly. In fact, it’s much more of an art than a science to many of these ‘teams’ of translators. They say they are making it ‘better’, more local for consumption by the Chinese market – personally, I appreciate it when anybody takes pride in their work.



Several hours later, these teams populate Chinese P2P sites and, voila – you have Hiro, Claire, and Sylar (characters of ‘Heroes’) battling it on your very own computer screen, perfectly subtitled, only hours off the press in the United States.



The Chinese government has made it very clear they are cracking down on these sites and have made it abundantly public their intentions to do so (even as recent as December 2009). And while there will be efforts to shut down many of these P2P sites, you simply cannot ignore the fact that there is a void in the China market. And as they say, “When there is a will, there is a way.”



Signs of the Time



So, this phenomenon with illegal downloads of American TV programs online – what does this really say about the China market.



Quality over Quantity



For one, the truth of the matter is that Chinese TV is simply not that attractive for many Chinese consumers (mainly the youth). For years, state-controlled television was often associated with bad programming. Is this always the case? No. Is this a good litmus test of the general consensus? Possibly.



With over 3500 television stations in China, one has to think there should be an abundance of attractive programming that viewers would. Rather, we see quite the opposite with millions of Internet users herding to these illegal P2P sites only to watch the grainy quality of “Heroes” on a 13.5 inch laptop screen. In China, quality trumps quantity. Hands down.



Censorship is not the Issue



I will be very frank about how I feel about the government’s position on cracking down illegal downloads. To them, I say kudos.



This crackdown is not an issue of censorship in any form or matter. Any of the programs that are illegally downloaded can easily be edited accordingly to fit the strictest of SARFT rules. Censorship is meant for communications over much bigger issues like Tibet / Taiwan – and should not be mentioned in the same breath with the likes of “Gossip Girl” or “Heroes”.



The truth of the matter is the government’s stance against illegal downloads is a way to exhibit soft power to the rest of the world. China recognizes that in order to be a world leader, it has to play nice and know all the rules of the sandbox. In this case, piracy and intellectual property is a very big deal for the rest of the world and the Chinese government is handling this perfectly – directly and indiscriminately.



Efficient Markets



The fact there is these kinds of issues in the market is a classic business school case of inefficient markets. One thing I can say about my experience working in China thus far, the Chinese are resourceful. They are most definitely not the ones to settle for mediocrity and will always find ways to supply what the market wants. In this case, good entertainment.



I do believe the Chinese media market will have to evolve to meet the needs of the people – especially as it pertains to television and the Internet. However, there are several important factors that will dictate how the market will evolve. Each of them have significant influence for better or for the worse.



For starters, television is the one platform that the Chinese government has control over. There’s no escape to that nor does it really matter. It’s a matter of fact and is absolutely fine as a media company working in the China market. With that being said, television will continue to be the dominant platform.



Secondly, the fact is that television is still the predominant and preferred platform for advertisers. They have a very strong hold of the market share of advertising buy and will be so for as long as I can foretell (not to say that the Internet will put a sizable dent into that share). As for my own philosophy, the market will go where the money goes.



Lastly, the momentum of a multi-platform play will eventually find its way to China. The lines between television, Internet, and mobile will increasingly be blurred and the philosophy of isolated silos of how media is consumed will be a thing of the past. Television, online, and mobile will be synonymous with the idea of consuming entertainment – and despite all the amounts of restrictions we can implement to control this trend, momentum trumps all. And this will not be an exception in China.



The good thing about each of these driving forces in China today is it will ultimately lead to better quality of content, better options for brands, and a better viewing experience for viewers / consumers. We can see glimpses of this already with even the flood of advertising dollars being poured into China today and how quickly television programming has evolved even within the last two years. Online video portals like Youku and Tudou are now crossing over and becoming much more consumer facing that they have been in the past. We see examples of how mobile phones have evolved despite the noticeable absence of 3G technology and how it seamlessly extends from its big brother, the Internet.



Growing pains now, but good for the overall market in the future.



Conclusion



After spending much time in China, I’m always surprised by how far American TV has been part of the Chinese culture. The hit US show, “Friends” is often used as an English-learning tool for many university students. Stars from “Prisonbreak” are icons in China and often frequent the television waves in the form of commercials.



No matter how we slice or dice it, American television has made a permanent footprint in China. It may not be entirely the programming themselves, but the culture and variety of programs that the Chinese viewers are drawn to. And for content providers and advertisers, this is something we can all rally behind.




Source: METAN Development Group