Music game shows are dying on VTV prime time, where does the tragedy come from?

After a boom period (about 5 years, from 2012-2016), reality television (TV) and music game shows on VTV's prime time on weekends have truly entered a period of saturation, and are even considered to be dying.

Many shows such as Vietnam Idol, Perfect Couple, X-Factor,... are no longer being held. Meanwhile, shows aired this year such as The Voice of Vietnam, Sing My Song, Familiar Faces... have all decreased in ratings and advertising prices.

In addition, the media impact of the programs has also decreased sharply. The champions no longer stand out as "phenomena". Instead, they are almost all obscure and controversial in terms of their skills, such as the cases of Ngoc Anh (The Voice 2018) and Tung Duong (The Debut 2018).

Reality TV, music game shows that once "stormed" television, were the launching pad for many famous singers, but by 2018, they had really fallen into tragedy. What was the cause?

Contestant tragedy: "One spoonful of flour makes 10 cakes"

According to singer Thu Phuong, one of the tragedies of music game shows today is the scarcity of contestants. There are no longer enough contestants to meet the huge demand of the programs. That is the reason why recent music game shows have not had outstanding champions.

As a coach of The Voice 2018, the female singer cited evidence from the competition she was a judge in. According to Thu Phuong, this year's The Voice has no one who truly stands out or has star quality, including the winner of Noo Phuoc Thinh's team and the contestants from other teams.

"One spoonful of flour is only enough to make one cake, but now it's not enough to make 10 cakes," Thu Phuong compared.

It is not difficult to see that in the past 2 years, the champions of music game shows have faded away, to the point that the audience cannot even remember them. This situation is completely different from 4-5 years ago, when right from the first rounds, many contestants created a storm like a phenomenon.

The Voice of Vietnam 2018 could not have quality contestants like Huong Tram, Bui Anh Tuan, Duc Phuc, Hoang Ton, Vu Cat Tuong... of previous seasons. This year's Sing My Song also did not have strange phenomena like Le Thien Hieu, Cao Ba Hung... Meanwhile, Familiar Faces ended a bland season, unable to have a second Hoai Lam or Khoi My.

"Without flour, there is no glue", programs with contestants of the same level, poor quality, and no outstanding contestants, are considered the first reason why television competitions are less attractive.

The tragedy of the judges: From the meat to the bones

The weekend primetime broadcast on television is a "war" for ratings. To gain an advantage in the "war" and help their programs attract attention, the organizers are willing to spend "huge" money to invite famous entertainers and stars in all roles, from judges, coaches to MCs and contestants.

Artists who were highly sought after on the judges' chairs include Siu Black (Vietnam Idol, Perfect Couple), Dam Vinh Hung (The Voice, The X-Factor), My Tam (Vietnam Idol, The Voice), My Linh (The Voice, Familiar Faces, Vietnamese Band), Thu Minh (The Voice, Vietnam Idol), Ho Ngoc Ha (The Voice, The X-Factor),...

At first, the above judges had great appeal in the hot seat because of their novelty and charm. With a large fan base, they also helped the show gain more attention.

But when an artist appears repeatedly as a judge, in different competitions, the charm begins to fade. To avoid boredom, production units start to hire young singers as judges. And this is also one of the tragedies of TV game shows.

In fact, young judges with many fans like Noo Phuoc Thinh and Toc Tien were unable to revive the heat of The Voice Vietnam. Similarly, Hoang Thuy Linh, Duc Phuc and Huong Tram were also unable to make The Debut a storm as expected by the organizers.

Singer Thu Phuong agrees with the opinion that not only contestants but also judges and advisors are not enough to meet the huge demand of reality television.

The female singer also cited the fact that she watched a show where the coaches were very young and lacked a lot of experience. And the show did not live up to viewers' expectations.

"I don't know if such coaches and advisors have learned anything from each program. I think everyone has to be patient to wait for real talent and a really good program in the current saturated context," the female coach of The Voice 2018 emphasized.

In addition to inviting young judges, some programs innovate by changing the entire panel of judges, Familiar Faces 2018 is an example. But unfortunately, the 3 new judges are not only not more attractive but also receive mixed reactions from the audience.

Kim Oanh on the hot seat of Familiar Faces received harsh reactions from viewers for her unprofessional comments and use of "big words". The three judges also showed a lack of unity as they often disagreed and contradicted each other.

Producer tragedy: Can't save saturation

It is not difficult to see the efforts of producers in creating an attractive program, with high ratings, and sought after for advertising. But not all of their directions are correct.

According to producer Dung Taylor, in the US, music game shows do not fall into the tragedy of saturation, or even "gradually die" on television like in Vietnam. The proof is that many programs can last for more than 10 seasons, such as The Voice US, which is in its 14th season in 2018.

As an observer in both markets, producer Dung Taylor believes that in Vietnam, production units are using the judge factor to attract viewers, so they often change judges and invite young people to sit in the hot seat. But in the US, the programs are always attractive with a consistent format, and rarely change judges.

"Like in The Voice, there are always Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. The remaining seats are usually guest seats to change colors, helping contestants increase their choices. But when talking about The Voice, we talk about Adam Levine and Blake Shelton as icons," the manager said.

In the opinion of Mr. Dung Taylor, producers need to have a clear stance, instead of "making wine today, but tomorrow seeing that everyone seems to like beer, switching to beer".

"That's not okay. Making a game show requires a stance. I once talked to a Dutch friend who sold the copyright of The Voice to Vietnam. He said he didn't understand what the format of The Voice in Vietnam was like. Because he doesn't have a stance, the appeal of reality TV in Vietnam is decreasing day by day," emphasized producer Dung Taylor.

While producer Dung Taylor emphasized the "stance" of the producers, musician Huy Tuan said that the saturation situation comes from the "mediocreity" and similarity of the competitions. Too much production, not thorough, not meticulous, and not having good musicians also makes the programs less attractive.

Obviously, not only the contestants or the judges, but also the songs for the contestants to perform are now scarce, the arrangements in the performances are repetitive, not much new. Impressive, grandiose, and elaborate performances are also appearing less and less.

With such tragedies, the saturation of music and game shows on VTV is considered inevitable.