The Voice is the latest in a string of reality TV programs that are based on singing competitions. Originally created by Dutch television producer John de Mol as The Voice of Holland - the series has now made its way to China. The reality talent show's Chinese adaptation, The Voice of China (中国好声音), premiered in July this year on Zhejiang Satellite Television and proved a ratings hit almost immediately.

The same program format that had managed to capture the hearts and eyes of viewers in more than forty countries around the world, has also become an instant hit in China.

The format of The Voice of China (TVOC) is nothing original; the producers have followed the same play book as the various national versions that have been ratings hits everywhere from Australia to the Ukraine.

Impressed by the unique format that has never been seen in any Chinese talent show before and the global popularity of the franchise, a Chinese production company called Canxing Productions (灿星制作) took the plunge and decided to pay 3 million yuan to acquire the rights to the show. The company signed a three-season contract and will co-produce the series with Zhejiang Television, a provincial satellite channel that already broadcasts several popular talent shows.

A New Mode of Cooperation

Both the record high ratings and the fact that the show was popular right from its premiere, have caused people to wonder what it is about this particular talent show that makes it stand out from many of the other similar programs that appear on Chinese television.

Apart from the format itself, which has been proven demonstrably successful worldwide, a new way of organizing the collaboration between the production company and the TV station has also contributed to the show's success.

It is unprecedented in China's TV broadcasting history for a production company and a TV station to form a joint venture, a partnership in which both parties share both the revenue and the risk. This new approach means that the TV station has to take on a greater amount of financial risk. As a consequence, it took Canxing quite some time to find a network that was willing to sign on.

The usual way in which production companies and broadcasters work together in China is for the production company to handle the entire production process from scratch and for the broadcaster to simply make a decision about whether to broadcast after viewing the show.