Entertainment is King

Author: Wang Hongwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: This book, with substantial data, straightforward writing, and profound analysis, comprehensively reveals the inner workings of China's private media establishment over its first five years of operation. It is the first comprehensive interpretation of the operational secrets of Huayin Media over five years, as well as the broader trends in China's entertainment media. It also fully showcases the legendary journey of Wang Changtian, the "father of entertainment news," and Huayin Media, from a single program to an entire company, and the creation of an unparalleled entertainment legend. This book is not merely a thorough review of Huayin's five-year history but more a summary and reflection of the past. And the summary and reflection it offers are not limited to Huayin alone but extend to all private television institutions, as well as the entire Chinese entertainment industry. This book is a classic case study worth reading for Chinese media professionals, a practical case study dreamt of by Chinese television professionals, and can be considered an MBA-level textbook in the entertainment media industry. It is also a decrypted guide for ordinary people to understand the production and operation of entertainment programs and the preferred reading for those interested in entertainment media.
Wang Changtian was born in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China in 1965 and graduated from the Journalism Department of Fudan University in Shanghai in 1988. He is currently the President of Huayin Media. He has gained prominence in the media and entertainment industry for his successful implementation of integrated media and entertainment, as well as media and entertainment branding in China. Currently, his company has fully realized the industrialized production and operation of television programs and leads the industry in planning, production, packaging, distribution, advertising, and value-added services. In 2002, Huayin Media's advertising revenue exceeded 150 million RMB, and in 2003 and 2004, it exceeded 250 million RMB, equivalent to the combined advertising revenue of the second to sixth-ranked companies in the industry. The new economic model he pioneered in media and entertainment has played a revolutionary role in driving the new economy's development.
In 1998, Wang Changtian established China's first professional television planning and production institution, the Beijing Huayin Television Planning and Research Center. Under its banner, the first program, "China Entertainment Report," launched on July 1, 1999. By October, the number of television stations broadcasting the program had rapidly increased from the initial twenty to nearly one hundred. In January 2000, Wang Changtian quickly launched the daily 10-minute "World Entertainment Report" while also making "China Entertainment Report" a daily program. Subsequently, he successively launched "China Network Report," "China Music Chart Show," and "Entertainment Personality Weekly," creating a huge stir in the entertainment and media industries. Today, Huayin's programs include "Entertainment Live," "Overseas Entertainment Live," "Entertainment Center," "Entertainment Personality Weekly," "Music Chart Show," "Stars," "Sports World," "Lady University," "Twelve," "Drama Trend Show," "Modern Times," and "630 Theater." Leveraging his strength in television media, he launched the pop music ranking list—Music Chart Show—which caused a sensation in China's music industry and was hailed by the media as "China's Grammy." Its successful operation for four consecutive years has proven its authoritative status in China's music industry.
On July 1, 2003, China's leading entertainment media institution, Huayin Media, partnered with China Radio and Television Group to launch "China Radio and Television Star," currently the largest entertainment weekly in China in terms of coverage, news volume, information content, and packaging quality. It is also one of China's most influential, professional, popular, and respected entertainment media. On October 13, 2003, Huayin Media officially launched "Huayin ETV"—the "Digital Entertainment Platform." It includes ETV Online, ETV Broadband, ETV SMS and MMS, ETV Star Club, and ETV Entertainment Club. All these digital entertainment services that young people dream of have been condensed into a top-tier digital entertainment brand in the Chinese-speaking world—ETV.
Founded in August 2000, ETV Online has, after four years of meticulous development, become China's largest entertainment website and digital entertainment platform. With 50 million daily visits from users across the country and coverage of over 10 million broadband users, ETV has become the digital paradise of young people.
Currently, under the leadership of Wang Changtian, Huayin Media broadcasts approximately six hours of television programs daily across 600 stations, covering fields such as entertainment, sports, variety shows, dramas, and films. Huayin Media boasts China's largest entertainment program production team, the largest group of entertainment and sports television programs, the largest television program distribution network, the strongest advertising business capabilities, the most influential entertainment and media brands, China's largest entertainment newspaper, the largest entertainment information website, the largest entertainment digital TV content, the largest entertainment broadband content, and the largest entertainment MMS content. Huayin has become an undeniable leader in China's private media and entertainment industry across new economic sectors such as television programs, drama series, newspapers, the internet, and multimedia.
Due to its influence and appeal in the new media economy, nearly all official media outlets, such as Xinhua News Agency, China News Service, People's Daily, China Daily, China Business News, Beijing Youth Daily, Southern Weekly, and influential publications like Caijing, New Weekly, and Internet Weekly, as well as overseas media like The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, have conducted interviews with him, resulting in hundreds of articles.
In 2001, Wang Changtian was selected by China Youth magazine as one of the "100 Young People Who May Influence the 21st Century China," named by Media magazine as one of the "Top 20 Media Figures of 2001," and by New Weekly magazine as the "Top 10 TV Innovation Figures of 2001." In 2002, he was included in the "Power List of the Entertainment Industry." He has also been named "Top 20 Media Figure of the Year," "Future Business Leader," "Most Influential Media Figure in China," and "2003 China New Economy Annual Person" by various magazines.
At the same time, due to his influence and prominence in the industry, he has been invited to attend events such as the Stanford International Investment Forum, the Golden Eagle International Cultural Forum, the Shanghai International Film and Television Festival, the First World Sports Forum, the Beijing International Television Week, and universities like Peking University and Communication University of China, where he has delivered keynote speeches as a guest speaker. For more information about Wang Changtian, please visit www.netandtv.com.