Chinese Viewers Tuning Out of CCTV New Year Gala

One of the most watched TV shows in China could be on the wane. China Central Television’s New Year Gala performance has aired on Chinese New Year’s Eve since 1983. It showcases singing, dancing and comedy. Many of the pieces glorify the Chinese Communist Party and display a so-called "harmonious society" the regime wants China and the world to see.

But now more viewers are switching off from what they see as a propaganda performance by the state-run broadcaster.

[Ye Kuangzheng, Chinese Cultural Commentator]:
"The CCTV New Year Gala and their news programs are the same. They have just become a ceremony of displaying the vision of the state. The news programs are not real news programs, and the New Year Gala is not a real arts and entertainment show."

Shanghai-based film critic Wu Renchu told the LA Times "This is the most censored show on Chinese television." This year more performers are either dropping out or being pulled by censors.

Female Chinese comic Song Dandan says she wouldn’t perform in the Gala unless they would arrest her. CCTV barred pop singer Na Ying from performing because her song contained a few English words. Chinese comedian Jiang Kun couldn’t perform, either. Many suspect it's because his skit touched on the 2011 Wenzhou train crash—a sensitive topic for the Chinese regime.

Many of these artists have decided to perform in New Year shows of rival private networks instead—such as Hunan Provincial Television. Private Chinese broadcasters are offering Chinese people an alternative to CCTV’s gala.

[Li Yuanhua, Former Vice Professor, Capital Normal University]:
"Actually, these channels are using their own New Year shows to replace the monopoly that the Communist regime has on entertainment. This is a new choice people now have at New Year."

Ye Kuangzheng says the 2012 version of the CCTV Gala was packaged in a certain way.

[Ye Kuangzheng, Chinese Cultural Commentator]:
"That is to say, it definitely doesn’t display the true feelings about the real situation of ordinary Chinese people. It just displays those trashy things or fake, decorated feelings."

CCTV claims 90 percent of Chinese people watch their New Year's Gala show, but other surveys show the number at 70 percent, with just 15 percent saying they actually like the show.