Magician Lu Chen

The magic's all set to be gone. After a plethora of magic-based shows that dotted Chinese television after the 2009 Spring Festival Gala, the producers are having a serious rethink on this genre of entertainment.

The short period of boom of magic programs saw several TV stations and producers churn out these shows to win ratings and revenue. But the magic was short-lived. The programs, showed on several domestic TV stations, are expected to come to a sudden halt in July.

Such programs have been witnessing a hard time recently as poor returns are forcing producers to compromise on quality.

In the beginning, there was excess expenditure on these shows but slowly abundance of similar kind of shows led to a declining interest in these programs. With a growing number of audiences gradually losing interest, many TV stations have decided to stop the productions of magic shows.

After the 2009 Spring Festival Gala, magic programs shot into fame, represented by well-known Taiwan-based magician Lu Chen. And soon many TV stations jumped into the bandwagon to cash in on such programs, like Hunan, Fujian and Anhui TV stations.

Those very same TV stations are now shying away from these magic programs. "We cannot stand the high cost for shooting such programs any more, more so as the earnings on advertisements have witnessed a steady slump against the dissatisfying ratings," said Luo Faping, chief producer of the magic program with Anhui TV station.

The investment on the magic program at Anhui TV station, for example, has exceeded 20 million yuan ($ 2.9 million), with only 13 round of programs produced.

As for the making of magic programs, it usually entails a money splurge on the props and also the reward for the magicians. To win over audiences, TV stations spare no effort to invite famous magicians and celebrities to take part in the shootings.

"A major reason for the failure of these shows was the over supply and lack of originality in them. The homogenization made these programs from bad to worse," said Yin Hong, deputy dean of the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua University.

It is not unusual for Chinese TV programs to instantly ape the successful formats of TV programs as they are lucrative but merely copying has its own hazards as was proved in the case of magic shows.

"The vitality of magic programs will not last for a long time in the current operating mode by TV stations," said Miao Li, dean of the School of Literature, Communication University of China.

(Global Times July 2, 2009)