The Voice of China: Interactive Television and Participatory Audiences in Mainland China Xin Yao Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of East Anglia School of Art, Media and American Studies March 2017 ©This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis, nor any information derived there from, may be published without the author’s prior, written consent. Abstract In 2012, the most popular reality TV show in China was The Voice of China (TVoC). It is an adaptation of The Voice of Holland, the format of which has been traded to many countries. Unlike its international versions, audiences cannot vote in TVoC due to government regulations. This research focuses on audience engagement with TVoC (2012), in light of this crucial difference. To investigate how audiences engage and make meanings with the show, this thesis is the first study approaches audience engagement in China by examining the tensions between government media policies, industry strategies and audience reception. Building on existing literature on media convergence and participatory culture in the West, this thesis argues that Internet technologies alongside social media enable and stimulate individual critical thinking and creativities which resist structural constraints such as censorship and commercialisation. Although direct online political participation is censored in China, audiences express and negotiate power as ways to construct political values. These online engagements bring new perspectives to understand participatory culture and ‘empowerment’ of audiences. Using political economy frameworks, this thesis highlights the power of government media policies in shaping TV industry and media content. Analysis of how the industry interprets and implements policies demonstrates how production companies use social media in attracting and cultivating audiences as part of promotional strategies. Adopting a historical reception approach with online ethnography, this study analyses how Chinese audiences engage with TVoC differently on two social media platforms: Sina Weibo and Baidu Tieba. It finds the active engagement of Chinese audiences/fans can be read as grassroots resistance, which can be achieved through different practices through different platforms. The multiple- level analysis of this research provides a new and comprehensive approach to the transformational nature of online participatory culture with regard to reality television in non-Western contexts. ii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................ii List of Illustrations ......................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................viii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project overview ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 Cultural research context ........................................................................ 7 1.2.1 The history of television in mainland China ..................................... 7 1.2.2 Recent policy changes .................................................................... 14 1.2.3 Reality TV in China: under state control ........................................ 17 1.3 Media research context ......................................................................... 23 1.3.1 Reality television studies ................................................................ 23 1.3.2 TV formats and localisation ........................................................... 25 1.3.3 Internet in China: control, regulation, and censorship ..................... 29 1.4 Thesis structure ..................................................................................... 30 Chapter 2: Methodology ................................................................................. 35 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 35 2.2 Methodological framework ................................................................... 38 2.2.1 Political economy of cultural studies .............................................. 38 2.2.2 Media convergence and participatory culture ................................. 43 2.3 Methodological tools ............................................................................ 50 2.3.1 Approach to audience reception: historical reception studies .......... 50 2.3.2 Online ethnography ........................................................................ 56 2.3.3 Selection of social media platforms ................................................ 58 iii 2.4 Research ethics ..................................................................................... 64 Chapter 3: ‘Localisation’: regulation, politics and industry as factors impacting on the creation and content of The Voice of China .......................................... 67 3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 67 3.2 Government regulation in shaping The Voice of China .......................... 73 3.3 Industry response to the government regulations ................................... 77 3.4 Reshaping the relationship .................................................................... 84 Chapter 4: The Voice of China (2012): participation and interactivity ............. 91 4.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 91 4.2 The concept of interactivity .................................................................. 94 4.3 Before the show: promotional strategies................................................ 96 4.4 Participatory opportunities within the weekly narratives ..................... 100 4.5 Social media: Sina Weibo ................................................................... 105 4.6 Participation as consumption .............................................................. 111 Chapter 5: Hierarchies within the ‘Weibosphere’ .......................................... 120 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 120 5.2 The use of Weibo by Canxing Production ........................................... 125 5.3 Pre-broadcast period (2 June–12 July 2012) ........................................ 128 5.4 Early broadcast period (13 July– 17 August 2012) .............................. 130 5.5 Later broadcast period (17 August–30 September 2012) ..................... 135 Chapter 6: Critical audiences of The Voice of China (2012): beyond anti- fandom ......................................................................................................... 140 6.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 140 6.2 Fans and anti-fans ............................................................................... 143 6.3 Anti-fans and negative news reports.................................................... 148 iv 6.4 Critical Audiences: Anti-over-commercialisation ................................ 151 6.5 Towards a critique of the wider political environment in China ........... 155 Chapter 7: Breaking the ‘rules’: Regulations and Fan Hierarchy within Fandom for The Voice of China on Baidu Tieba ......................................................... 160 7.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 160 7.2 Fandom within Baidu Tieba ................................................................ 165 7.3 Baidu Tieba’s exchange system and fan hierarchy .............................. 171 7.4 Power relations and TVoC (2012)’s tieba regulations ......................... 175 7.5 Challenging the power: Fan resistance ................................................ 179 Chapter 8: From Strategies to Tactics: Fan Productivity and Creativity within Baidu Tieba for The Voice Of China (2012).................................................. 184 8.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 184 8.2 Application of ‘tactics’ to fan creativity .............................................. 186 8.3 E gao (online spoofs) as a New Subcultural Phenomenon ................... 188 8.4 Tu cao (fan criticism) as Fan Resistance ............................................. 197 8.5 The political implications of fan creativity .......................................... 202 8.5.1 Circumventing censorship ............................................................ 202 8.5.2 Interactivity: engaging with social issues...................................... 204 Chapter 9: Conclusion .................................................................................. 207 9.1 Summary ............................................................................................ 207 9.2 Key Findings ...................................................................................... 208 9.2.1 SAPPRFT .................................................................................... 208 9.2.2 Television production companies ................................................