An epic battle over The Voice of China, is raging across the mainland, with rights owner Talpa, owned by the U.K.’s ITV, demanding that Star China step away from the most lucrative competition series ever after four seasons (and a start on season five) and backing up its fight with legal action.
Star China, meanwhile, premiered season three of its home-grown format, Sing My Song, on CCTV3 in a prime-time 7.30pm slot on 29 January. The studio-based singer/songwriter format is distributed internationally by ITV Studios.
Seasons five to eight of The Voice of China are switching to Zhejiang Tangde in a US$60-million deal announced as Sing My Song went to air.
The new four-season The Voice of China agreement is part of a broad agreement that also involves developing local Chinese formats Zhejiang Tangde has committed an additional US$50 million to the development venture, bringing the total value of the deal to US$110 million.
Talpa Media says Star China’s rights to The Voice of China expired on 8 January, and that the company had gone ahead “unlawfully” with production on season five.
Hong Kong’s High Court granted Talpa an injunction against Star China Media and Meng Xiang Qiang Yin on 22 January – a week before the Zhejiang Tangde deal was announced.
Star China says it is being treated unfairly, and has accused Talpa of extortion in its rights fees demands for new seasons of The Voice of China. Star China Media had hoped to premiere the show in the middle of this year.
Talpa rejects the allegations, saying that Star China and its affiliate, Meng Xiang Qiang Yin Cultural and Broadcast (Shanghai) Company, had expected it to “accept a below-market license fee that neither reflected the popularity” of the talent contest nor “the significant revenues that the show has generated for the defendants over the past four series”. Talpa also said the proposals did not reflect “the current value of the sponsorship rights to the programme”.
The Talpa-Zhejiang Tangde deal involves developing and operating more than 200 variety TV shows i...
An epic battle over The Voice of China, is raging across the mainland, with rights owner Talpa, owned by the U.K.’s ITV, demanding that Star China step away from the most lucrative competition series ever after four seasons (and a start on season five) and backing up its fight with legal action.
Star China, meanwhile, premiered season three of its home-grown format, Sing My Song, on CCTV3 in a prime-time 7.30pm slot on 29 January. The studio-based singer/songwriter format is distributed internationally by ITV Studios.
Seasons five to eight of The Voice of China are switching to Zhejiang Tangde in a US$60-million deal announced as Sing My Song went to air.
The new four-season The Voice of China agreement is part of a broad agreement that also involves developing local Chinese formats Zhejiang Tangde has committed an additional US$50 million to the development venture, bringing the total value of the deal to US$110 million.
Talpa Media says Star China’s rights to The Voice of China expired on 8 January, and that the company had gone ahead “unlawfully” with production on season five.
Hong Kong’s High Court granted Talpa an injunction against Star China Media and Meng Xiang Qiang Yin on 22 January – a week before the Zhejiang Tangde deal was announced.
Star China says it is being treated unfairly, and has accused Talpa of extortion in its rights fees demands for new seasons of The Voice of China. Star China Media had hoped to premiere the show in the middle of this year.
Talpa rejects the allegations, saying that Star China and its affiliate, Meng Xiang Qiang Yin Cultural and Broadcast (Shanghai) Company, had expected it to “accept a below-market license fee that neither reflected the popularity” of the talent contest nor “the significant revenues that the show has generated for the defendants over the past four series”. Talpa also said the proposals did not reflect “the current value of the sponsorship rights to the programme”.
The Talpa-Zhejiang Tangde deal involves developing and operating more than 200 variety TV shows in China. The first series to air under the new deal is celebrity dance contest, Dance Dance Dance.
Zhejiang Tangde has not said when season five of The Voice of China will premiere.
The season four finale on Zhejiang Satellite in October last year had an audience share of 27.39% with an average rating of 7.11% in 34 major cities, ending a record-breaking 13-week run at the top of China’s ratings charts.
Published on 8 February 2016