Category: coverage

Did A Chinese Streaming Company Make A Knock Off Squid Game?

On By Noah Furcht-HeafitzIn Brand, China, coverage, Distribution, Netflix, Streaming, UncategorizedLeave a comment
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58991127, BCC NEWS

The Chinese streaming company Youku Has recently begun pushing promotional material for its new series “Squid Victory”. The promotional material in question is a poster that looks remarkably similar to the poster for Squid Game. Squid Victory is a variety show In which contestants compete in large-scale childrens’ games. Netizens were quick to chastise the “shameless” Youku for the obvious thievery of intellectual property at play. In response, Youku has issued an apology and alluded to the idea they will change the poster at the heart of this issue stating it is, in their words, just a “draft” poster. Regarding this issue The company also stated:

“Due to a work error, the first draft of the new Game’s Victory show – which was shot down before – was mistakenly used in promotional activities at a trade fair,”

This statement which was written on the Chinese Twitter equivalent “Weibo” was posted alongside a notably distinct poster design for their newly re-titled program “Game’s Victory”. These steps however have done little to quell online outrage.

“It sounds like such a lame cover-up. Obviously, they had tried to rip off Squid Game because of how popular it is,” another Weibo user posted.

 This debacle has brought up the fact that many Asian citizens are “fed up” with how often Chinese producers plagiarize Korean content. Netizens cite the similarities between the South Korean program “Show me the money” and the similar Chinese program “The Rap Of China” as being a particularly egregious example of this trend as well.

“Why can’t our producers come up with our own ideas? This is so embarrassing,” another poster on Weibo commented.

 This all comes as a result of Squid Game’s becoming a nationwide phenomenon in China despite its not officially being released there. As Netflix is not available in China the show has gained a following exclusively through illegal means such as torrenting sites. Youku being one of China’s most popular streaming platforms with between 90 and 100 million active users decided capitalizing on Squid Game’s situation was potentially very profitable. This controversy comes on the heels of a multitude of similar culturally-based arguments that China and Korea have taken part in in recent years. Last year for instance Korea accused China of “stealing culture” when the country stated it “led the kimchi industry”. This controversy was born of The language barrier between the two countries. In China, kimchi is called “pao cai” – this being the same name as a Chinese pickled dish. China was also criticised for stating that the Korean national dress handbook originated there.

To answer the question posed by the title of this article “no”. I’m writing this article because I firmly hold that opinion. I don’t think taking surface-level elements from a popular television program and incorporating them into a show of a completely different genre is as bad as it’s being made out to be. To be clear, I’m glad that the name “Squid Victory” and the poster that represents the centre of the controversy were changed because they were deliberately misleading. I would however like to call into question why the Chinese and Korean governments are bickering like children about cultural stuff?  Lastly, I beg the question, who cares if some Chinese body makes a rip off of a game show or of a drama that can’t legally be accessed in China? If said shows aren’t good enough to stand on their own merits won’t they just be cancelled anyway? Is mimicry not the greatest form of flattery?

NEWS, BBC. “Squid’s Victory? China Streaming Site Accused of Copying Squid Game.” BBC News, BBC, 21 Oct. 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58991127.

Advertisement

Late Night Shows Impacted by the Pandemic

On By David SonIn Cable, coronavirus, coverage, Media Covergence, National coverage, News Media, Social Issue(s), TelevisionLeave a comment

As late night shows are directly impacted, hosts and broadcasting stations have found ways to keep viewers entertained. The biggest late night television stars are keeping the show going by filming from inside their homes. With this in home production comes many pros and cons.

Aside from all the production, the hosts have seemed to lack the energy driven by a live audience. With late night show hosts missing that energy, comes a lot of authenticity as well. Show host’s like Stephen Colbert adds that his dog has created a more intimate and relaxed environment to his job. In the privacy of their own homes, hosts have been able to feel less tense also in part of the less promotional stunts they would usually have to perform.

Jimmy Fallon adds that you can’t really fake anything. It is really you on National T.V. and that is all. Other late night show hosts have changed their normal ways. John Oliver has embraced the minimalist approach to Late Night shows while Bill Maher has added audience laughter to his monologue to add a more familiar setting.

Music has become a big source of entertainment during these shows as well. “One World: Together at Home” concert was on April 18, which played on multiple networks to fund raise for those fighting Covid-19

Other broadcasting stations are practicing alternatives towards their content. Saturday Night Live added the “at home” experiment which began a solo act for comedians to perform. Another innovative idea came from ESPN, while they created a “HORSE” competition in which known sports figures can compete in a game of “HORSE” for entertainment.

Although these companies are trying new ways to entertain the public, it has not come with the most exciting response. This sort of content can bore a viewer very quickly. Needless to say, their efforts are appreciated during these times of uncertainty. Any sort of entertainment to keep our minds off the pandemic is appreciated.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/17/entertainment/social-distancing-tv/index.html

What is going to happen to Olympic Sports and other Sports Broadcasters?

On By David SonIn Cable, Comcast, Consumer behavior, coverage, Distribution, Media Covergence, National coverage, Sports, TelevisionLeave a comment

The Tokyo Summer Olympics will not be happening this year.  For obvious reasons, athletes and sporting federations have chosen to push back the Olympics to hopefully next year.  The Olympics have been postponed three times in history.  Once because of World War I and another because of World War II.  The Prime Minister of Japan has insisted the Olympics to not be cancelled but postponed to next year.  Although Japan has made great progress in dealing with this crisis, the rest of the World has not.  Not until 2 weeks ago, people were insisting that the Olympics go on, but it is becoming seen as impossible and seriously ill-advised to do so.

NBCUniversal has already signed contracts with local stations and distributors for them to use their production.  Now that the Olympics are pushed to next year and their contract extended, NBCUniversal could make them end up paying double. 

But given the long-term relationships with these companies, NBCUniversal will most likely come up with accommodations in order to not decimate these local stations.  On the other hand, NBCUniversal would probably end up facing serious lawsuits if they chose to make their partners pay double.  No decision has been made yet.

Media executives worry politicians may carry-out a plan to have all TV bills be paid back to their consumers.  A large domino effect that comes from no sports being paid.

There are campaigns for sports networks to refund some of the paid subscription back to the consumer for no sports.  This would result in hundreds of millions of dollars, but sports broadcasters are trying to come up with accommodations in order to not lose out on so much money.  Many broadcasting stations are figuring out ways to keep the consumer’s happy by rearranging release dates and payment plans.  The Michael Jordan documentary was supposed to be released in July but has been pushed up to keep consumers happy.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-sports-cancellations-set-up-media-fights-over-refunds.html

Sports Broadcasting Services and their Providers; What happens?

On By David SonIn Brand, Cable, Comcast, Consumer behavior, coronavirus, coverage, Distribution, Media Covergence, Partnerships & Copyright, Sports, TelevisionLeave a comment

One would think because of the Coronavirus pandemic, people would more likely be inside spending time watching T.V.  Although this seems logical, because many of these people are becoming unemployed, they are more likely to cut cable to save extra money.  The FCC has already issued warnings to distributors and local T.V. stations about renewed contracts. 

As this crisis ensues, cable operators and programmers have called a temporary truce to set aside questions regarding refunds on undelivered programming, such as the NBA, NHL, Olympics, and many other big television marketing programs.

Distributors agreed to pay programmers a certain amount of money based on the shows the are supposed to deliver.  Many sports media channels are the reason consumers pay big bucks too, so a resolution must be brought up.

“CBS is not going to pay for this season and have no financial recourse at all,” Pilson said. “The networks are not paying for games that aren’t delivered. They may have a formula where certain monies change hands and eventually they’ll get credit for that.”

AS the NCAA basketball tournament has been cancelled, the effect chain goes further than professional sports.  The colleges that had a contract with programmers that are now diminished as well with the fees. 

Professional sports on the other hand, may have a more difficult time with the contracts they had with distributors.  Professional sports like, NBA and MLB don’t have clear provisions on how to demand refunds in case of a unavoidable cause.  While there are mentions of natural causes such as tornados, hurricanes, or what have you, there is no specifications for pandemics. 

NFL is working on renewing TV rights with their partnerships, like ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal, Disney and Fox.  While they are most likely to stick with these distributors until 2022, there are programmers who are on the fringe of stealing a partnership.  Companies such as Apple, Google, and Amazon are likely competitors.    

These distributors payed a lot of money for these games to be broadcasted.  NFL and MLB hold a lot of weight, in being able to not refund the broadcasters fully for what they have paid.  Streaming service DAZN has informed leagues that it will not pay rights fees for any games that have been suspended.  CBS, ESPN, and NBC all have not demanded refunds or threatened to withhold payment for games yet. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-sports-cancellations-set-up-media-fights-over-refunds.html

What happens in the wake of sports death?

On By Aidan PlunkettIn ads, Commercials, Consumer behavior, coronavirus, coverage, SportsLeave a comment

An article from AdAge.com discusses how the NBA postponing their season and the NCAA canceling much of their season and tournaments, including all of March Madness, much of the network advertisements are seeing declines on sports channels that are now mainly showing re-runs or older sports highlights.

The ads seeing the highest impressions are from airs during cable dramas such as ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ and ‘NCIS’ delivered over a billion ad impressions, across over 18 hours of advertising over the weekend. This is the first time that has happened in nearly two decades. Broadcast-network delivery of ad impressions went from 15 percent down to 11 percent. Big money still went to sports though, and while basketball reruns on sports networks didn’t draw the most eyeballs, they did still result in more estimated TV ad spend than anything else on TV over the weekend. 

College basketball topped the list in terms of estimated spend at $26.1 million. Food shows such as “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” had over 300 minutes of ads and delivered almost 465 million TV ad impressions. Airlines and cruise lines pulled their ads off the air amidst travel bans, online booking sites continued to spend, and health insurance companies are switching to creative coronavirus-awareness campaigns. While the big networks are bringing in the higher ad spends, it’s the cable news and lifestyle networks, such as HGTV, and family-friendly networks, like Nickelodeon, that are delivering more reach for the dollar right now.

The disruption of live sports is having a huge impact on brands that depend on college sports programming for massive reach. These are the marketer categories and brands that heavily bankrolled NCAA broadcasts last year: Vehicles: Automakers (est. $155 million), Insurance: Auto & General (est. $99.1 million), Electronics & Communications: Wireless (est. $78.1 million), Restaurants: Quick Serve (est. $58.3 million), Electronics & Communications (est. $49.2 million), AT&T Wireless (est. $68 million), Buick (est. $42.5 million), Geico (est. $36.4 million), Capital One Credit Card (est. $31.6 million), Progressive (est. $27.9 million). 

https://adage.com/article/media/what-does-tv-viewing-look-advertisers-weekend-march-no-live-sports/2245041

Tucker Carlson Warns of Coronavirus as Fox Attacks Media Coverage

On By David SonIn Censorship, coverage, Fake News, Media Covergence, National coverage, News Media, Political, Social Issue(s)Leave a comment

Tucker Carlson of Fox News has expressed his concerns over the Coronavirus. Even though his colleagues at Fox have downplayed the media’s coverage of the virus, Carlson has other words to say. On monday night, Carlson seemed to disapprove of President Trump’s message regarding the virus. “People you trust, people you probably voted for, have spent weeks minimizing what is clearly a very serious problem,” Carlson said. “it’s just partisan politics,’ the say. ‘Calm down. In the end this was just like the flu and people die from that every year. Coronavirus will pass.”

Meanwhile on Fox, Carlson’s colleague, Trish Regan was dismissing coronavirus than nothing more than an attempt to impeach Trump. Also, Sean Hannity claims that the media is using the coronavirus as a weapon against Trump. This is not a surprise for Fox is a very right winged news broadcasting channel that will support anything the President has to say. Rush Limbaugh even claims the democrats are using this virus scare to stop Trump rallies.

CNN on monday has begin calling this virus a pandemic. It is a big decision to begin calling it a pandemic because of the severity that implies. CNN chief medical correspondent, Sanya Gupta says, “While we know it sounds alarming, it should not cause panic.” By calling it a pandemic, Gupta is not trying to scare more people, but simply provide the correct information.

Many other media outlet companies have already begun taking precautions on this pandemic. The Washington Post, Vice Media, A+E Networks, New York Times, and more have all begun taking precautionary steps during this time. All companies have begun encouraging the employees to work from home. It seems as if every new company is focused on the actual matter at hand, while Fox shows stubbornness to the facts.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/10/media/tucker-carlson-coronavirus-warning-reliable-sources/index.html