Don't look at Zhou Xun, Look at Qinghai TV - Actress Zhou Xun is the green spokesperson for the new Qinghai TV.

Every Asian drama needs a Cinderella-like makeover, and it’s no different in the rest of the TV world. Today, our heroine is Qinghai Satellite TV, the  fairy godmother is Hunan Broadcasting Systems (GBS) , and the new wardrobe is green.

With its own owner GBS, Qinghai TV will start over on the 26th with a completely new set of programs, a new logo, and a new slogan -  “Beautify Qinghai, Greenify China,” making it the first Chinese station to embrace environmentalism in its aim.

“A green life brings us healthy bodies, and a green spirit brings us healthy souls. I hope that while “Our Part” and Qinghai TV works to promote green lifestyles, we can also bring green into people’s lives,” said actress Zhou Xun, Qinghai TV’s green spokesperson.

The channel’s purchase by GBS in January is also part of GBS’s ambition to form a large media powerhouse in China. By March, Qinghai TV, last year’s second least viewed Chinese satellite channel,  expanded viewership by 174% from last December.

Zhou Xun and children pour water from the Yantze, the Mekong and the Yellow River – all whose major source lies in Qinghai – to initiate the use of Qinghai TV’s new logo, the water droplet.

In an interview, GBS’s vice-station manager Zhang Huali said that this type of collaboration (aka buyout) will occur more and more in the future. Currently, each province in China has its own media company, which produces its own TV and radio channels, but Zhang Huali thinks that will change.

“We [Hunan Broadcasting Systems] predict that in the end, China can only have three to five broadcasting/media groups in the end,” Zhang Huali said. “Qinghai TV and Hunan TV’s collaboration reflects the direction of the future of Chinese TV – a conglomeration that must go beyond provinces, provincial governments, and media types,”

This is not the first time he said this. Last year, he spoke of the necessity of inter-channel collaborations when talent competition Super Girls formed a network of landbased channels that aired regional competitions. GBS has further proved its commitment to inter-media conglomeration by forming Shengshi Films with internet gaming typhoon Shanda last year and a collaborative agreement with internet company QQ this year.

Zhang Huali believes that only this way, can Chinese media groups go international. When asked whether in the future, only a few satellite channels or “groups” control most of the viewership, Zhang Huali said definitely.

“Only when such a situation occur can large companies form, and only then can we compete with international companies like Murdoch,” Zhang Huali said. “Otherwise, no matter how much the government puts in to bring the channels to Europe, to the Americas, only overseas Chinese will watch them.”

"Your mom is calling for you to work at Qinghai TV" - an ad featuring popular Hunan TV hosts He Jiong and Wang Han recruits employees for Qinghai TV.

While Hunan TV and Qinghai TV will belong to the same group (GBS has a 49% stake in Qinghai TV), they will still operate independently.. And though Qinghai TV will  be given easier access to Hunan TV’s dramas and shows, there will not a smaller price tag.

Zhang Huali said that to start Qinghai TV off, they will be allowed to borrow some glamour from Hunan TV. This is the most prominent in Blossoming Flowers, a talent competition modeled after Super Girls. A co-production between Qinghai TV and Hunan’s landbased eTV, the show quickly put Qinghai TV on entertainment headlines.

He says, however, this is not sustainable and Qinghai TV will eventually stand on its own set of shows.

New shows to be unveiled on the 27th include Gabeng Popcorn, a talk show that invites popular internet stars like Feng Jie, and A Million Dreams, a show that will give out 1 million yuan to help eight applicants fulfill their dreams.

source: sina ; sina ; baidu tieba; baidu tieba; Zhang Huali’s blog