2023, variety show rejuvenation?

Author|Xie Minghong

Editor|Li Chunhui

The variety show market in 2022 can be said to be a year of cultivation and recuperation.

Hard Candy Jun's biggest physical feeling is that there are also popular and out-of-the-loop variety shows, but they are slightly less coquettish than in their heyday. When I ask my friend what he is watching, it is almost all ancient rice variety shows.

Although the classics are forever handed down, no matter how powerful the "electronic squeezed vegetables" are, they cannot withstand being rolled out of the pulp for many years. Fortunately, the variety show market in Q1 2023 has warmed up in terms of broadcast volume and topic discussion, and has captured the audience's heart.

"Our Inn" carries the banner of slow variety shows, and although the cooking skills are urgent, the lively atmosphere makes people feel at ease. "Let's Farm" shines the male protagonist of Taneda into reality, and Hard Candy Jun announces that he does not love sports for the time being, and the rough man who farms will always drop God.

"The Strongest Brain" rejuvenates at the same time with Brother Shui's appearance, whether it is to watch the brain competition or intellectual love, I am afraid that you all have a number in your hearts; "Half-Acquainted Lovers 2" continues to make mature love a hot topic for the public, people want to fall in love and blossom in the season, who doesn't want to sip a "puppy literature"? "Unfold Talk" stands out for its fresh content texture and sense of companionship, just Fu Seoul, Yang Li, Yi Lijing, Yang Tianzhen get together to chat nonsense, not to mention that they also have to "torture their souls" to the guests.

Overall, the variety show quality of Q1 is very passable. It is full of life and humanistic care, and has infiltrated all corners of the public's daily life. In terms of the overall layout, the intention of each platform to take the lead with high-quality content is on the bright side, and this year's variety show war is afraid to be lively.

In the comprehensive recovery of variety shows, the different playing methods of long videos and medium videos, the consolidation and expansion of variety show types, and the new needs shown by the market are all important highlights.

The battle for quality in long videos

The variety show recovery in Q1 of 2013 is actually a sign of variety show performance in Q4 of 2022. "Time Concert 2" and "Infinity Class" both broadcast well with the blessing of nostalgia. At the beginning of the year, long-form video variety shows have a trend of multi-category and comprehensive blooming.

First of all, the strong recovery of the 2nd generation and the N generation, the eighth season of "Great Detective", the tenth season of "The Strongest Brain", and the second season of "Half-Acquainted Lovers" all reflect the iteration and vigorous vitality of IP. The eighth season of "Detective" was broadcast less than 2 billion in January, and the tenth season of "The Strongest Brain" had the highest market share of 1.8092% when it was broadcast on Jiangsu Satellite TV.

On the day of the premiere of the second season of "Half-Acquainted Lovers", it won the popularity crown of Tencent Video and Maoyan Network Variety Show, with a popularity value of up to 22,000 and 1,022 hot search lists on the whole network, and the Douban score also climbed from 6.4 to 6.7 in the opening score, and word of mouth and popularity flew together.

At the same time as the popularity returns, the investment promotion problem that caused deep distress in the variety show industry last year has also greatly improved. The investment performance of the second season of "Half-Acquainted Lovers" was particularly prominent in the Q1 variety show, attracting four brands, namely Zhixuan (title), Jinfang, Xinsanjiu Gastai, and Tang Daren.

The reason is that under the banner of mature love, the first season of "Half-Acquainted Lovers" won market volume and user following with differentiated highlights. As a 30+ Love Guide 2.0, the guests' views on love and the measures to deal with intimate relationships in the second season of "Half-Acquainted Lovers" can make the audience empathize and inspire the resonance of "the world is me". The warmth of its investment situation is an inevitable feedback of long-term good market growth.

Compared with the youthful romance, "Half-Ripe 2" has a kind of courageous confidence, strong personal charm and sense of proportion to build a group portrait of the half-cooked generation. Compared with emotional dramas, the real and wild "Half-Cooked 2" has a sense of substitution, after all, real life is more grabbing than TV series. In the hot topic of the program discussed by the audience, the universal appeal of contemporary people for love can be outlined. The "Yu Tianchao's realistic version of puppy literature", which everyone loves, reflects the active awareness of contemporary women's love initiative. "Meng Zhaobo soaked three cups of brown sugar water for Bao'er in one night", which allowed the audience to get a sense of male love crisis.

"Hahahahaha", which officially returned yesterday (March 3), continues to paint a broad and rich picture of social life while making the audience laugh. Perhaps the program group heard the voice of the masses and renamed the original "Hahahahaha" to "5Ha". It seems that it has not changed, because that's what old fans usually call it. "Wuha 3 name change official announcement" has also become the top 1 topic on the Douyin hot list, which can be said to make everyone's eyes look forward. On the day of the premiere, the show exceeded 20,000 in 5 minutes on Tencent Video Station, and the peak popularity of the night was 23,000, ranking first on the variety show hit list, and at the same time ranked first on the Yunhe All Public Opinion Popularity List and Maoyan All Network Popularity List.

It is reported that this time the "Five Harbin Regiment" will set off again, spanning 30 latitudes from north to south. On this winter-breaking journey, meet those ordinary but extraordinary people. "Hahahahaha", which is always on the road, always gives people unexpected sights and adventures.

The flowers bloom in two, one on each side. When entertainment variety shows are fiercely fighting, the documentary market wins with word of mouth. The popularity of the eighth season of the classic American food category "The Taste of Lao Guang" has not decreased, and the innovative author-style business observation program "Torrent Era" has attracted more attention. Since its launch on February 16, the popularity value of Tencent video in "Torrent Era" has reached 9,500, ranking among the top 5 self-made documentaries by Tencent. At the same time, there are 26 hot search lists on the whole network, topping the top 1 of Weibo variety show influence list, and Douban scored 8.5. For a financial documentary, it is definitely a brilliant result.

From "Live Streaming Wave" to "Coffee Siege" to "Changsha New Consumption", "Torrent Times" discusses hot business topics that are often on the lips of the public. With cutting-edge insights, it provides us with a financial perspective to perceive the ebb and flow of the times, and also helps us to understand the era more clearly and find the direction and hope for the future.

There have also been some new changes in the cultural program. In the past, "Thirteen Invitations" may have dominated from an elite perspective, and the sharpness of Xu Zhiyuan's questions was full of intellectuals' sense of responsibility and sense of distress. In the seventh season of "Thirteen Invitations", we clearly feel the turn of the show - trying to seek more experience and energy for the public that can be fed back into real life.

The dialogue between Xu Zhiyuan and Cai Gao brought "Thirteen Invitations" back to the methodological level and effectively linked the public value of the program. Is it difficult for modern people to return to childhood and remain childlike? Cai Gao's answer is very intuitive: "A person does not tell lies, does not do bad things, sincerely treats people, childlike heart is like this." ”

This change also triggered enthusiastic responses from viewers: "I feel that the show is more life-like" and "It used to be speculation, but now it is practice". It can be seen that no matter what era the public entertainment needs spiritual food such as "Thirteen Invitations", the premiere of this show won the first place in the documentary category of the Weibo variety show influence list.

In the video, who is accompanying young people?

As the competition space for long-form videos is gradually saturated, the market competition for Chinese videos is becoming more and more fierce. In the battle for attention of Station B, iQiyi, Watermelon Video, and Tencent Video, "Mao Xuewang" is one of the few Chinese video variety shows that has run through both content and business logic.

From the initial exploration to the current return of Chunfan, for more than a year, "Mao Xuewang" has come to a leading position in Chinese video variety shows through long-term companionship and unique content style. Mao Buyi and Li Xueqin met and chatted with many friends, showing a multi-dimensional youth life. There is always a rich pool of topics, and it is always a constant pyrotechnics. Almost every issue of "Mao Xuewang" has a topic out of the circle to attract attention, and this long-term popularity is the embodiment of the vitality of the program.

In the three years of the epidemic, there have been many Chinese videos that have put up the banner of companionship. But either it didn't last, or the host guest didn't find the right person. In the early stage of "Mao Xuewang", Mao Mao and Xueqin also often asked for sponsorship, and with the popularity of the show and the unique life atmosphere deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, it is now favored by more and more brands.

Last year, Tencent Online Video V Vision Conference proposed the concept of "Xiaoxian Comprehensive Community", aiming at the four areas of social, emotional, trendy and sports that young people most resonate with, and launched new programs. This means that Tencent Video's Chinese video variety show layout has been initially successful. Following "Mao Xuewang", "The Little Thing of Love", "I Have a Promising Me" and "It's Better to Work Than to Call", Xiaoxianzhu's "Expand and Talk" is a "grocery store" for a new generation of audiences.

On the day of the broadcast, "Expand and Talk" became the first day in the Maoyan network variety show popularity list, with a total of 201 hot searches on the whole network, 124 hot searches on Weibo, and 15 hot searches at high positions, "Wang Yuheng said that making money is the easiest", "Ma Yili said that he is very good in love" and other highlight content frequently appeared in the circle. In the show, the four sisters threw sharp questions to the guests, and the witty words often made the audience endure.

Between the comedy of the talk show and the depth of the talk show, the show strikes a balance. After the celebrity guests faded their halos, they all discussed high-frequency topics in the entertainment field. When the seriousness is deconstructed and the proposition is disassembled, the audience gets the relief and companionship of a hearty smile. The sister who appears regularly gradually becomes a familiar friend in the user's heart.

In the face of Yang Li's doubts, Yi Lijing said that love is all in, "only after exhausting personnel, can you obey the fate of heaven", this frank expression resonated strongly with netizens. "My sister's attitude to life is really sober", "This kind of freedom and ease is really admirable".

When young people need to be understood and accompanied more and more, the development direction of Chinese video is easy to see. "Special Plan for Youth Song Travel" focuses on chasing drama companionship, and the audience can see Ao Ruipeng's ghost horse and Deng Kai's contrast in variety shows. "Mao Xuewang" and "Expand Talk" are the companionship of life in their spare time, Mao Mao and Xueqin are the tacit understanding of friends for many years, and Fu Seoul, Yang Li, Yi Lijing, and Yang Tianzhen are the sparks of the collision of diverse views.

To be broadcast variety show, the explosive bet has been opened

On the basis of the rejuvenation of Q1 variety shows, if the variety show market wants to continue to burn the fire, it also needs hard currency. After studying the list of variety shows to be broadcast, Hard Candy Jun feels that the market for Q2 and Q3 will be more lively, and of course, the competition will be more fierce.

"Detective Detective 3" will create a new adventure setting, so that reasoning is not only about pushing the murderer; "Chasing the Wind" focuses on the charm of mature men and the growth of teenagers, and it is worth looking forward to whether the motorcycle journey can capture the audience; "This! It's Street Dance 6" and "Amazing! Dance Club 2" builds a street dance universe and creates a street dance World Cup in China; "The Next" provides a stage for young people to speak with strength...

Live performances during the pandemic have shrunk, leaving the public with more stages for emotional release. At the same time, the lack of platforms for new songs and performances by idols and singers has also been a long-term pain point in the market. Some of the singing programs that emerged before solved the urgent need but did not form a cluster advantage. In 2023, the general environment will open, and stage programs that have experienced ups and downs for several years are expected to accumulate and usher in a real turning point.

The signal was released as early as the beginning of the year. Stage competition shows are highly popular on SNS, the entertainment industry as a whole is picking up, and offline live tickets are hard to find. It can be predicted that stage programs will become the focus of competition on Q2 and Q3 platforms, and the burning late spring and midsummer are most suitable for showing the group portraits of the young generation.

Hard Candy Jun noticed that some stage shows have become popular before they are broadcast. "The Next" also created a new youth trend culture when it built a stage for the later waves. The early stage of the show attracted a lot of attention, and the show not only gained insight into the desire of young people in domestic entertainment for the stage (tearing labels and breaking stereotypes), but also brought a new viewing experience to the audience. It is worth mentioning that Tencent Video will continue to join hands with Xiaoguo Culture to launch a new comedy variety show "Comedy Conference" to provide opportunities for young comedians to break the circle.

The online rumor of "The Next Contestant Proposed Invitation List" is even more full of expectations. Ning Yizhuo, Ye Shuhua, Wen Junhui, Zhang Yuanying, Jin Zihan, Xu Yiyang, Qing Li, these names made Hard Candy Jun call "can't believe it". "The Next" divides the stage into "newcomer attack battle", "card slot shuffle battle", "return 'revenge' battle", and there are also obvious innovations in the mode.

A good start is half the success, and Q1 variety shows, whether it is the excitement of the market or the recovery of commercial returns, make us have higher expectations for the whole year. After all, it's not a big deal to watch the excitement, and I have posthumously determined this year's variety show war!