Send in the clones: Television formats and content creation in the People’s Republic of China

Television formats illustrate the machinations of contemporary television industries. This chapter provides a theoretical perspective on format flows, which rather than simply emphasizing ideological or stereotypical representations encoded in finished programmes, as has been the dominant mode of 'ontent' analysis, and considers formats as a 'cultural technology'. The chapter deals with a particular manifestation of format cloning: the Chinese dating show. With multi-channelling and increasing audience fragmentation beginning to bite in China, television stations increasingly look for the cheap proven formula to gain their ratings figures. This sends mixed signals about the state of China's domestic industry. Formats add value by introducing new ideas, technologies, and production skills. They also appease audience desires for affective content while incorporating necessary pedagogic element. However, there is something fundamentally parasitic about cloning which is detrimental to the reinvigo-ration of the Chinese mediascape.