The Popularity of Dating TV Reality Shows in China : On the Perspective of Audience

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The Popularity of Dating TV Reality

Shows in China

On the perspective of Audience

Master Thesis within Economics and Management of Entertainment and Arts

Author: Jie WANG

Tutor: Mary Alice SHAVER & Dan SHAVER Jönköping 2011

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Master‘s Thesis within Economics and Management of Entertainment and

Arts

Title: The popularity of Dating TV Reality Shows in China ----On the perspective of Audience

Author: Jie WANG

Tutor: Mary Alice Shaver; Dan Shaver Date: 2011- 5- 22

Abstract

Problem: The dating reality show If You Are the One, won the largest audience rating in

China after 2 weeks of its debut. The sudden popularity led to more and more TV stations rushing to produce dating reality shows, and the majority gets even higher ratings from critics, from media, the Chinese government and common Chinese citizens.

Method: Quantitative analysis of a multi-question online survey by logistic regression to

determine whether certain variables, identified through academic research, correlate with satisfaction and use by audiences.

Result: There are three types of audience.

 One is eager to get married and aims at finding true love through dating shows or getting some guidance for finding their perfect match.

 The second is already married and consider their relationship with their spouse to be a major life issue. They will hope to receive beneficial advice from watching dating shows.

 The third type simply watches for entertainment, to relax after a day of harsh work and study.

All the audiences watch dating shows, more or less trust on the authenticity of TV and dating shows.

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-TABLE Table 4.1 - Outcome Summary o f Demographic Variables on the Perceived Importance of Individual Issues - 23 - Table 4.2 - Outcome Summary o f Attitudinal Variables on the Perceived Importance of Individual Issues - 23 - Table 4.3 - Outcome Summary o f Demographic Variables on Value/Credibility Variables... - 25 -

Table 4.4 - Outcome Summary o f Attitudinal Variables on Value/Credibility Variables ... - 25 -

Table 4.5 - Outcome Summary o f Individual Issues and Value/Credibility Issues on Media Consumptions- 27 - Table 4.6 - Outcome Summary o f Importance of Individual Issues a nd Value/Credibility Issues on Other Behavior - 27 - Table 4.7 – Demographic Variables, Individual Issues and Value/Credibility Issues on Reasons to Watch Dating Shows. ... - 28 -

FIGURE Figure 2.1 The example of The underlying logic of investigation Models...- 5 -

Figure 2.2 Rosengren’s Uses and Gratifications Paradigm (McQuail & Windahl, 1986d)...- 6 -

Figure 5.1 Summary of Variables Related to Media Consumption, Other Behavior and Gratifications of Watching Dating Shows... - 30 -

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1 Introduction

In this section, the background of Chinese dating shows is discussed. Furthermore, it

presents the research questions, purpose and limitations of this thesis.

1.1 Background

Dating shows appeared on Chinese TV channels twenty years ago. However, they gradually faded out of the public attention because of the declining audience rating until the debut of Let’s Go on a Date (Wo Men Yue Hui Ba), at the end of 2009 from Hu Nan Satellite TV. Hu Nan is the most prestigious provincial TV station for entertainment programming. A month later, Jiang Su Satellite TV started a similar program called If You

Are the One (Fei Chen Wu Rao), which soon became the number one e ntertainment TV

show. Because of the success of these two shows, more and more TV stations followed suit and produced similar programs and this kind of reality show became vital for competition among TV stations.

These shows penetrate deep into Chinese‘s everyday life. People talk about the participating girls on the show and some of the participants instantly gained fame. Sina.com classified some of the female participants on the same page as movie stars. Even a new Chinese vocabulary was created -- BMW girl, because one female participant at If You Are the One claimed she would rather cry sitting in a BMW than smile riding on bicycle.

These programs also get international attention. Some participants came from the USA, Korea, Vietnam, Sweden and the Ukraine. USA Today commented with an article titled ―China smitten by TV dating‖ (Macleod, 2010). The Jindu newspaper described the

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debates resulting from the date programs as unprecedented.

Popularity brings critics. The main critic isms are of incorrect messages of money worshiping being sent to the younger generation. In one of the Let’s Go on a Date episodes, a good looking male participant received 0 popularity from the girls after revealing his monthly salary is a low 2,500 RMB; while a much less attractive boy with a doctoral degree, not good at expressing himself, got high attention. The motivation of those girls also draws a lot of criticism. Are they really looking for a relationship or simply wanting to appear in gossip magazines the next day? Could it be that these girls are actresses hired by TV stations? If so, does it violate the basics of a TV reality show? As the media industry is censored by the central government in China, a slight distaste from government officials can be crucia l for any program. Last summer, the Chinese central government propaganda officials issued a directive calling the shows ‗vulgar‘ and criticizing them for promoting money-oriented values, openly discussing sexual matters and ‗making up false stories, thus hurting the credibility of the media‘ (Yang, 2010). The result was a big makeover for those dating shows. Instead of claiming property possession and social status, the participants showed more involvement of public welfare and willingness to build a good relationship with a future mother- in-law. Zhejiang TV‘s

Run for Love (Wei Ai Xiang Qian Chong) ended in June 2010, though the producer refused

to admit it had any relationship to the directive. If You Are the One began to use a professor from the local Communist Party School as a judge.

Supporters view reality dating shows as sign of significant social progress as TV show can offer ordinary people the opportunity to freely express themselves. And the fact that the

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shows passed censorship proves an increasing level of social tolerance towards diversity of opinion. The producer of If You are the One, Mr. LIU points out that criticism that these dating programs demoralize society is largely due to the audience‘s unfamiliarity with reality shows. ‗Before, the Chinese audience did not associate or connect TV with real life, but rather a platform beyond reach‘ (cited in Jin, 2010).

1.2 Research Question

The research question is why dating reality shows became so popular with audiences in China within a relatively short period of time from the perspective of use and gratifications obtained from watching dating shows. Why from the audiences‘ perspective? Media firms draw profits from two sources, one is revenue from audiences buying tickets and paying for subscriptions; the other is from advertisement (Webster, Phalen & Lichty, 2000). Thus, we can conclude that audiences are critical to mass media research.

1.3 Purpose

The purpose of this thesis is to provide answers to the specified research question by investigating various factors that contribute to the popularity of Chinese TV Reality Shows.

1.4 Limitations

The limitations of the survey are firstly the size of the sample, 209 cases is fairly small comparing to the entire population in China and have a 6.8% margin of error at the 95% confidence level. Secondly, the samples are all from big cities in China, mainly southeast of China and Beijing, and lack data from the countryside or undeveloped areas of China. Lastly, most survey participants are below 50 years old. Thus, the conclusion gets from this research only for Chinese citizens below 50.

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2 Theoretical F ramework

This section presents the usage and gratification theory which is widely used in media

research and gives a brief introduction of Chinese television system and dating TV reality

shows in China.

2.1 The Uses and Gratification Theory

While much of communication research focuses on media‘s influence on people, the uses and gratifications approach deals with what people do with the media.

McQuail & Windahl (1986a) indicate that research within the uses and gratifications approach focuses on the use of media content for obtaining gratifications or need fulfillment. Audience behavior is explained by the needs and interests of the individual.

2.1.1 Classical Models

The Underlying Logic of Investigation Model

Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch (1974) initiated a uses and gratifications model---the underlying logic of investigation. The main idea is that ‗They are concerned with the social and psychological origins of needs, which generate expectations of the mass media or other sources, leading to differential patterns of media exposure (or engagement in other activities), resulting in need gratifications and other consequences, perhaps mostly unintended ones‘ (cited in McQuail & Windahl, 1986b)

Apart from the key element above, uses and gratifications models always include motives for satisfying the needs and functional alternatives for fulfilling the needs. (McQuail & Windahl, 1986c)

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An example of a typical uses and gratifications chain of reasoning might go as follows for a TV-reality show: A 30 year old single man wants to get married soon. This generates the need. Instead of searching for girls he knows in his social circle, he expects that certain mass media consumption would give fulfillment of his need. He can either go to a dating website or watch dating TV reality shows. He chooses the most popular dating TV reality show If you Are the One. The result can be that he finds a target girl, maybe then contacts her or even attends the show. He may continue to watch If You Are the One, and starts to talk about it with friends, family and workmates. The whole process itself is a functional alternative to real interaction. The model is presented in Figure 2.1

Figure 2.1 The e xample of The underlying l ogic of investigation Models

Real interaction: searching girls from his social circle Functional alternative

Social and psychological origins: A 30 year old single man wants to get married soon

Needs : date

Expectations of the mass media or other sources: find a date

Differential patterns of media exposure: dating website or watching dating TV reality shows

Need gratifications: find target girls Other consequences: talk about it with friends, family and workmates; contact the target girl; participate in the show If you are the one

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Rosengren’s Version

Rosengren develops the underlying logic of investigation model and identifies eleven variables related to the uses and gratifications approach (Figure 2.2).

Under interaction with

And

Result in

as well as

The combination of problems and solutions constituting

resulting in

and

both behavior categories giving

and, possible affecting

as well as, ultimately, +

Figure 2.2 Rosengren‘s Uses and Grat ifications Paradig m (McQua il & Windahl, 1986d)

1 Certain basic human needs of lower and higher order

2 Differential combinations of intra- and extra- individual characteristics 3 The structure of the surrounding society, including media structure

4 Differential combinations of individual problems, being more or less strongly felt,

5 perceived solutions to these problems

6 Differential motives for attempts at gratification-seeking or problem-solving behavior,

7 Differential patterns of actual media consumption

8 Differential patterns of other behavior,

9 Differential patterns of gratifications or non- gratifications

10 The individual‘s combination of intra-and extra- individual characteristics

11 The media structure and other social, political, cultural and economic structures in society

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The needs of human beings constitute the starting point, which is the same as the underlying logic of the investigation models. Boxes one through three explain the origin of needs to be satisfied, that is, interaction with elements within individuals and surroundings around the individual. Rosengren claims that higher level needs (the need for company, love, acceptance and self-actualization ) are the most relevant to the uses and gratifications approach compared to lower level needs (psychological and safety needs), which are classified at Maslow‘s hierarchy of needs (cited in McQuail & Windahl, 1986e). The interaction of needs, individual characteristics and surrounding social conditions generate individual problems, which differ between individuals (box four). Once the solutions of the problem are perceived (box five), the motive for attempts at gratification-seeking or problem-solving behavior is formed (box six). However, in empirical research, it may be hard to separate ‗motive‘, ‗need‘ and ‗problem‘ (McQ uail & Windahl, 1986f).

Motivations thus affect patterns of either media consumption (box seven) or other behaviors (box eight). The result of consumption is either gratification or non-gratification. The effects of the process influence the individual himself, society and media patterns within society.

We can take Rosengren‘s version as an extension of the underlying logic of the uses and gratifications investigation model. It clarifies the elements forming ‗needs‘ and the processes involved in choosing to consume media or other products and services to satisfy that need. Rosengren‘s approach predicts the possibility of non-gratification. However,

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McQuail & Windahl (1986g) conclude that empirical research has always failed to evaluate gratifications, often assuming consumers get the gratifications they are expecting. The last new idea in Rosengren‘s model is of the social and media influence resulting from media consumption or other consumption, while the underlying logic of investigation models only considers effects on consumers individually.

2.1.2 Fields of Application

Traditionally, the uses and gratifications approach is used to explain audience behavior for certain mass media, especially TV. Kilborn (1992), adopting the uses and gratifications perspective, offers different reasons for watching soap operas from both individual needs (entertaining rewards from work; fulfilling individual needs; identification and involvement with characters) and social interaction perspective (focus on debate on topical issues; a kind of critical game involving the rules and conventions of the game).

Though uses and gratification has a long history, it is still useful for analyzing modern audiences. The uses and gratifications approach has been extended to digital media. Ancu and Cozma (2009) adopted uses and gratifications to examine what attracts voters to visit a political candidate‘s social network profile on Facebook and MySpace. Park, Kee & Valenzuela (2009) examined Facebook Groups users‘ gratifications and the relationship between users‘ gratifications and their political and civic participation offline.

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2.2 Dating TV Reality Shows in China

2.2.1 Chinese Television System

There were 314 television stations, not counting the number at county level, in China in 2004 (22-9 Basic Statistics on Radio and Television Stations, 2005). Out of 314, only two were national television networks -- CCTV (China Central Television) and China Educational Television. The rest are provincial and local stations. Television stations in China are government owned. CCTV and China Educational Television are affiliated with the State Administration of Radio Film and Te levision. The other television stations are affiliated with the provincial and local Administration of Radio Film and Television. Each level of Administration of Radio Film and Television is then affiliated to one higher level. For example, Radio Film and Television Bureau of Zhejiang Province is affiliated to The State Administration of Radio Film and Television. Radio and television stations throughout the country currently reach 96.95 percent of the total Chinese population, which is ranked number one in the world with the largest audience numbers and television content delivered (Li, 2010).

Since The State Administration of Radio Film and Television is a bureau of the state council, in theory, Chinese television stations should get total government funding. However, in reality, ‗the largest source of funding for Chinese television is commercial revenue‘ (Li, 2001a, p3). Even for CCTV, government subsidies only supply 0.5% of total CCTV funds (Li, 2001b). Thus, Chinese television has to seek revenue from commercial advertising and sponsorships.

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television stations and the lack of public funding. Competition is especially severe among provincial television stations that are satellite transmitted and reach a nationwide audience. In order to get a share from the pie of 1.3 billion viewers, each provincial station needs to first compete with CCTV, which is the ironclad winner; followed by competing with numerous peers. In addition to battles among different stations, there is also competition from other media forms like radio, print and newly developed Internet media.

To gain a better understanding of the actual situation in television stations, I interviewed an editor named REN Haiquan at Zhejiang Satellite TV. He said that (REN, Haiquan, personal conversation, 2011-03-20), unlike the past, audience ratings have become the dominant factor for TV programming decisions. In Zhejiang Satellite TV, staff get bonus according to the audience ratings of the program they work on. If the program fails to reach a certain audience rate, it will be removed or rescheduled to a less desirable hour, like late evening. However, the competition for ratings does not mean government supervision can be ignored. TV stations must also satisfy strict government demands. The stations‘ producers work under heavy political and economic pressures. The only way to survive is to provide programs that meet the audience‘s likings within the government‘s bottom line requirements. They are walking a fine line between modern creative entertainment and stern conservative political guidelines.

2.2.2 Introduction of Dating TV Reality Shows in China

History

The history of dating reality TV Shows in China is not a long one. In 1988, Shan Xi TV Station created a program called TV Matchmaker (Dian Shi Hong Niang), which is

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considered the original mainland China dating TV show. The object of the show is to find a girl friend for bachelors who are financially unsound. In the beginning, no one signed up to go on the show. After three months of advertising in newspapers, a man from the Nan Zhang village in Qi Zhou registered for the show. The show became popular after the first girl participant appeared which is considered to be very untraditional in the Chinese value system at that time.

In 1988, a Taiwan dating reality show, Super Woman & Men (Fei Chang Nan Nv), started broadcasting in mainland China. Shortly after, various TV stations produced more than 20 similar programs, including: Rose’s Date (Mei Gui Zhi Yue) by Hu Nan TV Station;

Man & Woman Should Get Married (Nan Nv Dang Hun) by Nai Nan TV Station; Good

Men & Good Woman (Hao Nan Hao Nv) by Shan Xi TV Station. Among these, Rose’s

Date is the most influential. It was broadcast by Hu Nan TV Station, which is known as

the ‗King of Entertainment‘ station in China. Within 60 minutes, six single men and six single women interviewed each other and selected his/her date at the end. This show is a masterpiece in Chinese dating reality TV shows‘ history. It lasted for 7 years and 15% of the participants managed to find a date (Satellite TV stations compete for dating TV show,

If you Are the One at top of audience rate, 2010a).

In 2004, Hu Nan TV station produced a singing reality show, Super Girl, which is similar to American Idol. Super Girl, followed by Super Boy, dominated the reality show market till the end of 2009 when the same TV station, Hu Nan Satellite, launched a dating reality show called Let’s Go on a Date. Within a month, another giant among provincial TV stations, Jiang Su Satellite, came out with a dating show, If You Are the One. The

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show gained unprecedented popularity and, in two weeks, became the most popular show with a huge audience (Satellite TV stations compete for dating TV show, If You Are the One at top of audience rate, 2010b).

Current Most Popular Shows

If You Are the One (Fei Chen Wu Rao) Jiang Su TV Satellite 2010.1

Each episode has 24 single girls who want to meet a guy and 5 single males to choose from the 24. Each girl has a podium with an assigned number and their name, age and job are displayed in front of the podium. Each guy comes on stage and does a self introduction - name, age, residence location and, sometimes, profession. He then chooses a girl he is interested by secretly entering the girl‘s assigned number on a machine that only the host can see. At the same time, the girls also decide if they want to know the man better. If she does not, she will turn off the light on her podium. This is the first round. Three rounds of video segments, taped by the guy himself and his friends or family, follow. Girls can continue to turn off their podium light between the three rounds if they lose interest. If, after the three video segments, there are more than two girls whose lights are still on, the guy can turn off all the lights leaving those of the two girls he likes most. The two female finalists, along with the girl who caught the guy‘s attention in the beginning of the show, walk onto the center of the stage. The guy can ask them a question and make his final decision. If the chosen girl accepts, they are successfully matched up to have a date. They win a pair of shoes from the sponsor shoe company - Aokang. They also win a trip to Hawaii if the guy receives at least 22 lights at the first round.

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The host is MEI Fei, an experienced journalist for local news. The show also includes two psychologists. LE Jia is the founder of personality analysis by color in China and is famous for his direct and sharp comments. The other psychologist is a professor from Jiang Su provincial Committee party school, a very nice easy going person called HUNG Han. Ms HUNG joined the show in the summer of 2010, after the progra ms were criticized of being too vulgar.

Connect to Love (Ai Qing Lian Lian Kan)

Zhejiang TV 2010.11.14

This is a new show from Zhejiang TV station that started in November 2010, after ending its controversial dating show Run For Love in June 2010, which is said to have been banned by the Administration of Radio Film and Television, though Zhejiang TV station denied it. There are fifty girl candidates, but only 10 can participate each episode. The 10 girls are chosen as follows: each male participant lists two requirements, like ‗must be taller than 163cm; prefer to travel as individuals rather than joining a travel group; prefer the girl‘s personality to be subtle rather than outgoing.‘ Those girls who think they don‘t meet the requirement turn off their podium lights. If there are still more than 10, all the candidate girls‘ numbers are entered into a random draw on a screen. When the guy says ‗stop‘, the 10 numbers left on the screen become the final participating girls.

As in If You Are the One, the man can choose the girl who caught his eyes when he first came on the stage. There are video segments for the girls to know the man better. The difference is at the last round, the boy can decide whether he wants to turn the light back on of the girl who caught his eyes in the beginning. There is also a psychologist in the show,

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named LEI Ming, who analyses the personality of the participants and suggest suitable matches.

If a date is confirmed, the girl can get a cell phone from the sponsor ing cell phone company, Duo Wei, and they together can win a free trip to Aegean Sea.

Let’s Go on a Date (Wo Men Yue Hui Ba)

Hu Nan TV 2009.12.24

This is the Chinese version of Take Me Out, for which Hu Nan TV station bought the rights from the British Fremantle Company. There are two main differences from the previous shows. One, instead of girls waiting for love, there are also episodes where a girl will choose from a number of men. Two, instead of having psychologists as guests, this show invites two famous entertainment program hosts as guests.

2.2.3 Critics of Dating TV Reality Shows

The debates started because of a scandal about the reality TV show If You Are the One. MA Nuo, a 22- year-old girl from Beijing, haughtily rejected an offer from a male contestant to take a ride on his bike by saying ‗I'd rather cry in a BMW than laugh on the back seat of a bicycle‘.

The dating show scandal swept through the Internet immediately. WANG Xi Jie, wrote on the popular Internet forum Tianya.cn: ‗Yes, the world needs money, but your idea that money is the master of everything is not right.‘ XIE Yong, wrote on the Web portal Sohu.com: ‗The most controversial aspect of these programs is the value these contestants place on worshipping money and rich people. These opinions are so contrary to our traditional values, like loving one's country and respecting one's elders ... But we can't do

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anything if these people just prefer repulsive things‘ (Cited in Bergman, 2010a).

Half a year after the debut of Let’s Go on a Date, in early June of 2010, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued new rules for matchmaking programs. The rules require that inappropriate social and love values, such as monetary desires, should not be displayed in the shows and that morally provocative hosts and hostesses should be banned. It is required that participants undergo stricter screening procedures and be cautious about making spontaneous and questionable remarks (Bergman, 2010b). In a Chinese TV program conference last June in Shanghai, scholars, critics and various media celebrities discussed current Chinese TV shows. CAO Kefan, a well-known host of Shanghai's Dragon TV, predicted that those dating shows can‘t last long as they go against the mainstream values of Chinese society (Luo & Shi, 2010a). He also claimed that a large part of these dating shows are just staged acts. The goal ‗is not about really finding a match, but rather having a debate, a staged debate‘ (cited in Xing, 2010a). WANG Xiaoya, a renowned hostess of CCTV, viewed the dating shows as negative for China‘s broadcast industry because they overstress unconventional values. ZHAO Zhongxiang, a former host of CCTV, pointed out that the problem of those shows is content, not the concept. He expected to see high qua lity and cultural based content rather than vulgar expression. According to him, high quality content, not shocking words, would ensure a program‘s longevity (Luo & Shi, 2010b).

On the other hand, people with the opposing views argued the dating programs actually reflect the real Chinese society. GU Xiaoming, a professor at Fudan University, said that the majority of the comments from contestants reflect how they feel, but that most people

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dare not express themselves honestly in their daily lives. ‗Instead of criticism, we should calm down to discuss how to improve the esthetic sentiment‘ (cited in Luo & Shi, 2010c). GU Jun, professor from Shanghai University, said more bluntly, ‗Nowadays how many girls would really smile sitting on the backseat of a bicycle?‘ (cited in Luo & Shi, 2010d). A famous critic from Hong Kong ifeng Satellite, MA Jiahun, encouraged dating shows to be even more open. He admits fake elements do exist, like hiring aspiring actors and models as contestants. However, the value system presented from those young people can‘t be bogus and the enjoyment audiences get from watching can‘t be forged either. He feels the values reflected in those shows, rather than controversial, are actually very much mainstream: women prefer to have a man who is handsome and rich; men would like a woman who is sweet, tender and good to elderly parents. He said he would let his daughter watch the dating shows to let her see how young people choose dates now (Luo & Shi, 2010e).

Even though some of the contestants come across as very offensive, people continue to watch. ‗Audiences like the programs because they're honest. The y show the current reality of Chinese society,‘ said YAN Mu, one of the founders of Baihe.com, an online dating service with 21 million registered users, ‗Many people feel pressure from their parents and peers to find a mate. It can be a struggle to find one.‘ (cited in Bergman, 2010a). ‗You can see the show as a reflection of our society today‘, writes a resident from Nan Jing on Sohu.com. ‗The reason we like watching the show is because real life conflicts are larger-than- life on the shows‘ (cited in Xing, 2010b).

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3 Method

This section provides a detailed portrayal of the choice of method used in the research.

Motivation of the research approach chosen, process of data collection and design of survey

will also be explained in detail.

3.1 Research Approach

A web-based survey was used for data-collection. According to Wright (2005), the advantages of online survey research includes access to individuals in distant locations, cost and time saved in contacting participants, and the convenience of having automated data collection, which reduces researcher‘s time and effort. Disadvantages of online survey research include uncertainty over the validity of the data and sampling issues，and concerns surrounding the design, implementation and evaluation of an online survey. The reasons for choosing this method are that ‗This method allows for elaborately designed questionnaires with color, graphics, audio features and sophisticated skip patterns. Moreover, the software is usually programmed automatically to collect and provide ongoing summaries of the data‘ (Gunter, Nicholas, Huntington and Williams, 2002, p.232).

3.2 Data Gathering

Originally the survey was designed in English. However, during pre-testing, 14 out of 15 survey participants responded that the language of the survey bothered them a lot and the survey was translated to Chinese. The online survey was conducted through a Chinese professional online survey website called Questionnaire Star (Wen Juan Xing).

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result was better than expected. By April 19, 209 respondents completed survey and it was closed on April 19. To minimize response time, survey methods were employed. First, the questionnaire was embedded in an e- mail sent to a number of potential respondents. The recipient of the E-mail was told he/she could respond to the survey by clicking on the link provided. Secondly, the survey was posted on major social networks in China - Kai Xin Web, QQ, and Dou Ban web. Kai Xin Web, similar to Facebook, is the largest and most popular Social Network Site in China. QQ, similar to ICQ, is the most dominant Instant Message software used in China, with more than 100 million users. Dou Ban web is a social network site mainly for young people, originally set up for sharing books and movies. Thirdly, the exchange filling survey service from Questionnaire Star was utilized. By using this service, those who are conducting an online survey on Questionnaire Star complete another‘s survey and theirs is completed in return. However, the sampling results were not as good as expected from the above methods. After two day, only 15 respondents have completed the survey, which is nothing in a country with 420 million netizens as of June 2010 (Statistical Report on Internet Development in China, 2010a). Messages were then sent on QQ and MSN to people on the researcher‘s friends list asking them and their friends to complete the survey. This led to notable success. By the third day, the number of respondents reached 71.

3.3 Sampling Issues

The sampling issue creates limitations for the data. First is the sample demographic issue. According to CNNIC‘s (China Internet Network Information Center) recent report (Statistical Report on Internet Development in China, 2010b), 51% of netizens are between

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the ages of 20 and 39 and 72.6% are urban residents. This means limited or no statistics were gathered from rural and older viewers. Second is the sample size issue. Due to time and cost limitations, there were only 209 respondents, which is fairly small in the world‘s most populated country.

3.4 Survey Design

An online survey was used as source of primary data since it could be distributed to a large number of people simultaneously across the whole nation. A total of 23 questions (Refer to Appendix 1 – Questionnaire) were created with each question set as ‗ mandatory‘, which means the respondents would not be able to submit the survey if there was any question left unanswered. This setting was used to guarantee there were no missing answers for any of the 23 questions.

The survey is designed according to the Rosengren model variables. The questions associated with each of the Rosengren variables were :

 Basic human needs of lower and higher order

 Differential combinations of intra- and extra-individual characteristics a. Demographic variables

i. Q 18—Gender ii. Q 19—Age

iii. Q20—Marital Status iv. Q21—Education

v. Q 22—Employment vi. Q 23—Income

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b. Q14—Attitude Towards Marriage

c. Q15/16—Important Factors in Marriage

 Structure of the surrounding society, including media structure Result in

 Differential combinations of individual problems, being more or less strongly felt a. Q 17 a-e—Major Life Concerns

 As well as perceived solutions to these problems

a. Q10—You can find true love through dating reality shows b. Q 6—Credibility

c. Q7—Importance of Credibility

The combination of these problems and solutions constitute differential motives for attempts at gratification-seeking or problem-solving behavior

Resulting in

 Differential patterns of actual media consumption a. Q2—How often do you watch dating shows? b. Q3—What‘s your favorite dating TV show?

 And differential patterns of other behavior

a. Q8 a-c—Activities Resulting From Watching Dating Shows

 Both behavior categories giving differential patterns of gratifications or

non-gratifications

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 And possibly affecting the individuals combination of intra- and extra-individual

characteristics

 As well as ultimately, the media structure and other social, political, cultural and

economic structures in society

4 Analysis and Findings

The purpose of this section is to present and analyze the statistical results gathered

from the online survey.

4.1 Data Analysis

The object of this analysis is to investigate two questions:

1) How does watching dating shows affect audience decisions about media consumption and other behaviors?

2) What uses and gratifications affect the decision to watch dating shows? It is conducted by examining three relationships:

 The demographic and attitudinal variables on individual issues and value/ credibility issues;

 Impact of demographic variables, individual issues and value/credibility issues on media consumption and other behavior;

 Impact of demographic variables, individual issues and value/credibility issues on uses and gratifications of watching dating shows.

4.1.1 Variables

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income. The attitudinal variables include attitude towards marriage and the individual‘s values regarding marriage. Individual issues refer to current major life concerns. Value stands for the belief of the chance of finding true love through dating shows. Credibility means how believable or authentic these TV dating reality shows and TV as a medium itself is perceived to be.

Variables of media consumption are the frequency of watching dating shows. Other behavior refers to activities resulted from watching dating shows including the variables of social discussion of the shows, fashion influence and re-evaluate of one‘s relationship. The variables for uses and gratifications of watching dating shows are: a) understanding current social trends; b) fine contestants and background music; c) good entertainment; d) common topic for conversation; e) anticipate to contact interesting contestants; f) expert‘s advice is beneficial.

4.1.2 Statistics Method

Stepwise regression was used to identify key variable, then correlation was used to identify the strength of the relationship. T-Tests were used to identify statistically significant differences between groups and crosstabs to identify specific distributions for further analysis. The whole process was conducted using SPSS.

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4.2 Demographic and Attitudinal Variables on Individual Issues and

Value / Credibility Issues

4.2.1 Demographic and Attitudinal

Variables on Individual Issues

Table 4.1 - Outc ome Summar y of De mographic Variables on the Percei ve d Impor tance of Indi vi dual Issues

Vari ables Stepwise Regression Correlation

Inde pendent Variable De pendent Variable Adjuste d R2 Sig F. Change Correlation Sig. (2-taile d)

Education Job/education 0.035 p=0.004 0.199 p=0.004

Monthly Income Marriage 0.061 p<0.001 0.256 p<0.001

Monthly Income Parents 0.067 p<0.001 0.268 p<0.001

 See Appendix 3 for more detailed description of the variab les

Table 4.2 - Outcome Summar y of Attitudinal Vari ables on the Percei ve d Impor tance of Indi vi dual Issues Vari ables Stepwise Regression Correlation

Inde pendent Variable De pendent Variable Adjuste d R2 _{Sig F. Change} _Correlation _{Sig. (2-taile d)}

Personality Importance Job/Education 0.313 p<.001 0.565 p<.001

Financia l Impo rtance

Marriage

0.204 p<.001 0.454 p<.001

Material Require ment 0.300 p<.001 0.423 p<.001

Education Importance

Health

0.202 p<.001 0.448 p<.001

Material Require ment 0.237 p=0.002 0.246 p<.001

Material Require ment Parents 0.243 p<.001 0.399 p<.001

Fa mily Importance

Spouse

0.156 p<.001 0.400 p<.001

Material Require ment 0.200 p=0.001 0.340 p<.001

Stepwise regression analysis identifies the relationship between key variables for each major concern in daily life. Concern for health and the importance of one‘s relationship with one‘s spouse have no significant relationship with any of the demographic variables. The demographic independent variable related to the dependent variable of concern about job/education is education level. All groups with different education levels have high concern on job or education, with the mean of 5.01 out of 7 as the highest mark, and Std.

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Deviation of 1.887. However, there is no significant linear relation between the independent variable and dependent variable through Crosstabs analysis (X2=25.383, df=24, p=0.385).

Monthly Income is the independent variable for both concern about marriage and the relationship with parents. A linear relation is discovered through T-Test, that is, the higher the income, the greater the concern about getting married (mean for group monthly income below 1,000 Yuan is 2.83, above 20,000 Yuan is 5, p=0.01) and the importance of one‘s relationship with parents (mean for group monthly income below 1,000 Yuan is 2.57, above 20,000 Yuan is 4.73, p=0.01).

Material importance is the major attitudinal variable that affects individual concerns. From the correlations, we can conclude that individuals placing a strong emphasis on monetary values have greater concerns about individual issues such as marriage, relationships with parents and spouse, and personal health. This supports the critics of the venality of dating shows.

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4.2.2 Demographic and Attitudinal Variables on Value / Credibility

Variables

Table 4.3 - Outcome Summar y of De mographic Variables on Value/ Cre di bility Variables

Inde pendent Variable De pendent Variable Adjuste d R2

Sig F.

Change Correlation

Sig. (2-taile d)

Gender

Be lieve of Finding True Love through dating Shows

0.133 p<0.001 -3.710 p<0.001 Monthly Income 0.224 p<0.001 0.370 p<0.001 Age 0.292 p<0.001 -2.840 p<0.001 Monthly Income Be lieve Everything on TV 0.110 p<0.001 0.339 p<0.001 Gender 0.177 p<0.001 -3.260 p<0.001 Age 0.221 p=0.001 -0.231 p=0.002

Gender Authenticity of Dating Shows 0.053 p=0.001 -0.240 p=0.001

Table 4.4 - Outcome Summar y of Attitudi nal Vari ables on Val ue/Cre di bility Vari ables

Inde pendent Variable De pendent Variable Adjuste d R2 _{Sig F. Change} _Correlation

Sig. (2-taile d)

Material Require ment

Be lieve of Finding True Love

through Dating Shows 0.372 p<0.001 0.636 p<0.001

Material Require ment

Be lieve Everything on TV

0.319 p<0.001 0.588 p<0.001

Personality 0.351 p=0.002 -0.256 p=0.001

Material Require ment Authenticity of Dating Shows 0.046 p=0.002 0.226 p=0.002

 See Appendix 3 for more detailed description of the v ariab les

The dominant demographic variables on value and credibility of TV dating shows are gender, monthly income and age. It can be concluded through T-Test that men have a stronger belief in finding true love through dating shows (mean of men 4.61 and women 3.22, p<0.001) and the authenticity of TV (mean of men 4.67 and women 3.47, p<0.001). Also, men care more about the authenticity of dating shows compared to women (mean of men 5.23 and women 4.40, p=0.001).

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love through dating shows (the mean of the group with monthly income below 1,000 Yuan is 2.89, mean for those with monthly income above 20,000 Yuan is 4.9, p<0.001) There is also a linear relationship between income and belief in the authenticity of TV content for responses whose monthly salary below 20,000 Yuan (mean responses for those whose monthly below 1,000 Yuan is 3.22, mean for respondents whose monthly income is 10,000-20,000 is 5.04, p<0.001).

There is a linear relation between the age variable and strength of belief in finding true love through dating shows for respondents between age 10 and age 50 (X2=91.180, df=42, p<0.001). The younger the respondent, the stronger his belief in finding true love through dating shows. The same relationship holds between age and the belief in the authenticity of TV content (X2=980.228, df=42, p<0.001). The younger the respondent, the stronger his belief in the value/authenticity of everything on TV. There were too few respondents in the age categories of 50-60 and 60 and above to conduct meaningful analysis.

For the attitudinal variables, the key factor is the importance of financial requirements for marriage. This explains how the dating shows‘ focus on the capital power of contestants appeals to a significant audience segment.

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4.3 Demographic Variables, Individual Issues and Value/Credibility

Issues on Media Consumptions and Other Behavior

Table 4.5 - Outcome Summary of Indi vi dual Issues and Value/ Cre di bility Issues on Me dia Consumpti ons

Sig. (2-taile d)

Marriage Frequency of Watching 0.043 p=0.001 -0.219 p=0.001

Be lieve Everything on TV Dating Shows 0.143 p<0.001 -0.37 p<0.001

Table 4.6 - Outc ome Summary of Importance of Indi vi dual Issues and Value/Cre di bility Issues on Other Behavi or

Inde pendent Variable De pendent Variable Adjuste d R2 _{Sig F. Change}

Correlatio n Sig. (2-taile d) Be lieve Everything on TV Talk to People 0.061 p=0.001 0.259 p<0.001 Marriage 0.064 p<0.001 0.261 p<0.001 Be lieve Everything on TV Fashion Influence 0.101 p<0.001 0.34 p<0.001 Spouse 0.122 p<0.001 0.355 p<0.001

Be lieve of Finding true Love

through Shows Re-evaluate

current

0.130 p<0.001 0.397 p<0.001

Marriage 0.133 p<0.001 0.370 p<0.001

Demographic differences have no influence on media consumption and other behavior. However, differences in individual issues and views regarding the credibility of TV lead to individual differences in behavior regarding media consumption and different percep tions of the results of watching dating shows. For people who believe the authenticity of television content, the reality show has a bigger impact on their understanding of the current social (X2=61.372, df=36, p=0.005) and fashion trends(X2=76.925, df=36, p<0.001). People who have bigger concern of getting married tend to talk more about dating shows

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(X2=79.746, df=36, p<0.001) and reconsider their current goal of getting married (X2=302.125, df=36, p<0.001). This can be explained by the underlying logic of investigation model presented in the theoretical frame part.

4.4 Demographic Variables, Individual Issues and Value/Credibility

Issues on Reasons to Watch Dating Shows

Table 4.7 – De mographic Vari ables, Indi vi dual Issues and Value/Cre di bility Issues on Re asons to Watch Dating Shows .

Sig. (2-taile d)

Job/Education Fine Contestants 0.081 p<0.001 0.244 P=0.001

Authenticity of Dating Shows and Background Music 0.144 p<0.001 0.268 p<0.001

Monthly Income

Good Entertain ment

0.091 p<0.001 -0.310 p<0.001

Job/Education 0.091 p<0.001 0.317 p<0.001

Job/Education Topic for Conversation 0.067 0.001 0.270 p<0.001

Be lie f of Finding True Love Through Dating Shows

May Contact

Contestants 0.157 p<0.001 0.418 p<0.001

Authenticity of Dating Shows

Beneficia l Advice

0.132 p<0.001 0.371 p<0.001

Spouse 0.170 P=0.004 0.325 p<0.001

If we separate the types for reasons to watch dating shows, the data indicate:

1) Knowledge function: help to understand current social values, especially on marriage; get beneficial advice from the expert panel;

2) Social function: have common topic with friends, coworkers and family;

3) Hedonic function: good entertainment; enjoy watching pretty female contestants and fantastic background music;

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One can‘t learn from things that they don‘t trust. Thus, there is a relationship between belief in the authenticity of dating shows and the reliance on them for beneficial advice. Cross table analysis on variables of ―bothered if dating shows are staged‖ and ―obtain beneficial advice from experts‖ shows that the degree of advice obtained from shows and the belief of the authenticity of shows have a linear relationship. That is, the stronger the belief in the authenticity of shows, the more perception of learning. The same goes for the utility function, the stronger the belief in finding true love through dating shows, the greater the chance the respondent would try to contact contestants.

People with high pressure jobs or school work tend to focus more on the hedonic value of dating shows as a way of relaxing. The shows therefore influence their social life through conversations about dating shows.

Andersson & Andersson (2006) point out that income is an important factor affecting consumers of experience goods. People in lower income groups like watching TV, while people with higher income prefer opera. Through T-Test, the same conclusion is obtained here that the lower the income, the higher entertainment gratification get from watching dating shows (Mean for group monthly salary below 1,000 Yuan is 4.41, Above 20,000 Yuan 2.05, p=0.001).

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5 Conclusion

Notes:

Gratifications of watching dating shows Media consumptions and other behavior Individual issues Credibility issues

Demographic variables

Figure 5.1 Summary of Variables Relate d to Me di a Consumpti on, Other Behavi or and Gr atific ations of Watching Dating Shows

Can find true love though shows

Watch dating shows

Talk to people about shows

Rethink current relationship

Job/education

Believe authentic ity of shows

Spouse Believe everything on TV Social Hedonic Learning Utility Marriage Fashion influence Monthly Income

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The above figure is a summary of variables influenc ing media consumption and other behavior and gratifications from watching dating shows. The variables influencing the frequency of watching dating shows are the level of concern about marriage and belief in the authenticity of TV. The same variables influence people‘s behavior in talking about dating shows in daily life. The variables influencing fashion uses are belief in the authenticity of TV and high value placed on one‘s relationship with their spouse. The variables related to rethinking one‘s individual‘s current relationship are high concern about marriage and a belief in finding true love through dating shows.

The summary serves as a solution for the questions proposed at Chapter 4.1, which is the aim for doing the analysis.

Q1: How does watching dating shows affect audience decisions about media consumption

and other behaviors?

Demographic variables show no influence on choices about media consumption and other behavior. When individuals have a high importance rate on marital relationship or have the desire of getting married, holding the belief of finding true love through dating shows and trusting the authenticity of TV, they are more likely to watch dating shows, talk about shows in daily life, be influenced in their get dress by shows and to rethink their relationship.

Q2: What uses and gratifications affect the decision to match dating shows?

People with differences in individual and credibility issues and incomes get different gratifications through dating shows.

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shows are authentic. The first group is low income people. Watching dating shows is a good entertainment when people have tight budgets. The second group is people with high concern for job/education in life. For them, watching dating shows is a good source to release the pressure of work and study. It also serves as topic for daily conversation, thus they obtain social gratification as well.

People who believe the authenticity of dating shows and place a high value on their relationship with their spouse get learning gratification from watching dating shows. Advice from psychologists on shows to the participants also benefit audiences in solving their problems in marriage or simply strengthening their relationship with their spouses. People who believe they can find true love through dating shows get utility gratification from watching dating shows. They may find some interesting contestants and contact them to see if they can get a date.

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6 Discussion

The purpose of this chapter is to tie empirical findings back to uses and gratification models,

discuss some detailed insights that do not relate specifically to the research questions that

guided the author, and further explain the practical implications to economic agents.

6.1 Theoretical Implications

Figure 6.1 Model for Watchi ng Dating Shows

1Demographic

variables 2Attitudes

towards marriage

4 Value/credibility on TV and dating shows

5 Watch dating shows 6 Other behaviors 3Individual

issues

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The above model explains the reasons individuals watch dating shows based on survey results. Demographic variables (Box 1) include education and monthly income, together with attitudes towards marriage (Box 2) form individual issues. Among various individual issues, those who have the strongest concern about marriage, believe that they can find true love through dating shows and trust TV as a media (Box4), choose to watch dating shows to solve their personal problem (Box5). Individual audience members receive different kinds of influences from watching dating shows and engage in different behaviors (Box 6) -- talk about shows for daily conversation, fashion/style information and information for rethinking their current relationship -- based on their individual concerns and the perceived value/credibility of TV and dating shows. As a result of watching dating shows, individuals get different forms of gratification (Box 7) -- hedonic, social, learning or utility. These gratifications then influence the individual‘s decisions about watching dating shows, together with other social behavior and levels on concern about individual issues.

The finding is consistent with uses and gratification theory. Box 1 and Box 2 explain the origin of needs. Box 3 and 4 explain the motivation for watching dating shows and other behavior, which in my study is assumed to be influenced from dating shows. Box 7 is the gratifications audiences get from watching dating shows, which affect their next choice of media consumption together with other behavior and individual issues. This is a new point to add to Rosengren‘s version of uses and gratification theory.

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6.2 Practical Implications

An interesting finding when examining the relationship between attitudinal variables and value/credibility issues (Table 4.4) is that material requirements for marriage has a connection with the belief in finding true love through shows and the perceived credibility of TV and authenticity of dating shows. And all these values and credibility are important elements in deciding to watch TV shows. This discovery explains the money worship spirit of dating shows, and also, serves as a defense from their critics. If the audiences are vulgar, how can the program be elegant? Instead of criticism, we should calm down to discuss how to improve the social value system.

Income is an important variable affecting forming individual issues and perceptions of the value/credibility on TV, which are motives for watching dating shows. The higher the income, the greater the concern about getting married and one‘s relationship with parents (Chapter 4.2.1) and the higher the level of belief in finding true love through dating shows and in the authenticity of TV (Chapter 4.2.2). This gives producers of dating shows a new view on audience segment. Though low income group are the major group choos ing TV as entertainment consumption, in the case of dating shows in China, high income audience can be a blue ocean market.

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Appendices

Appendix 1 – Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1) Have you ever heard of any dating shows, like If You Are the One, Run For Love，

Let’s Go on a Date?

□ Yes □ No

2) How often do you watch dating TV shows?

□ Everyday □ once a week □ once a month □ once a year

□ Never (Go directly to 5)

3) What’s your favorite dating TV shows?

□ If u are the one (Fei Chen Wu Rao) □ Let‘s Go on a date (Wo Men Yue Hui Ba) □ Connect love (Ai Qing Lian Lian Kan) □ Date on Saturday (Xiang Yue Xing Qi Liu) □ Love Knock the Door (Ai Qing Lai Qiao Men)

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□ Other (Please Specify)

4) Please race the importance of the following reasons for watching dating shows 。

a. It helps me get to know current social condition and social value, especially about marriage.

Not Important Extremely Important

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

b. The female contestants are pretty and the background music is fantastic, etc …

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

c. It is good entertainment for relaxing through some vulgar but funny comments. Not

Important Extremely Important

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7 d. I can have common topic with my workmates during lunch.

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

e. Maybe I can find a contestant whom I am interested in and contact them to get dating opportunity.

Not Important Extremely Important 1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

f. The advices from panel psychologists are beneficial to me.

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

5) Please rate the importance of the following reasons for NOT watching dating shows。

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Not Important Extremely Important 1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

b. I have no time.

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

c. I don‘t believe it is reality, just some acting planned by program producers.

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7 d. Others(Please Specify)

6) Do you believe everything you see on TV?

Not at all Believe in everything 1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

7) Would it bother you if you knew some of the show was staged?

Not at all A lot 1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

8) “Watching the show is one of the highest priorities in planning the things I do that day”. Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements.

a. I discuss it a lot with my friends, workmates and family.

Never A lot 1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

b. I want to dress like some of the more popular participants. Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree

1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7 c. I begin to rethink about my current relationship.

Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree 1_____2_____3_____4_____5_____6_____7

The Popularity of Dating TV Reality Shows in China : On the Perspective of Audience