Over recent years, Vietnam’s show business has been overwhelmed with reality shows, which are characterized by fights and contestants’ dashed dreams.

Apart from rampant fights among fans and contestants of reality shows themselves on fanpages and social networks, the main wars lie in the race to obtain the “peak-view” airing hours, and to attract stronger contestants as well as invite popular jurors and hosts.

“Nhan To Bi An” (The X-Factor) had been delayed for a long time before airing as the fight for jurors and key contestants went on for too long.

Among the fights, the war for air time is the most intense.

Show producers have scrambled to have their programs aired on national channel VTV3 on weekend nights.

Dong Tay Co. recently won a contract with the channel to air their shows at its peak hours, from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Some years ago, these hours, which bring about high ratings, were “monopolized” by such major show producers as Cat Tien Sa, Multimedia, and BHD.

After winning the ideal airing hours, show producers also try their best to make sure that their viewing rates are good enough.

In order to do so, apart from an alluring show format, good hosts, jurors, choreographers, directors, and contestants are also integral to the shows’ success.

In the past two years, well-loved master of ceremonies Phan Anh has always had his hands full hosting both “Vietnam Idol” and “The Voice of Vietnam.”

Other shows feature a limited number of well-known emcees, including Thanh Bach, Tran Thanh, and Nguyen Khang, who alternate between several programs at a time.

Some shows use less experienced hosts while waiting to attract popular ones.

Producers also vie to invite the most sought-after local stars as well as expat Vietnamese artists such as Thanh Bui, who made it to the Top 8 of the 2008 Australian Idol, composer Duong Khac Linh and choreographer John Huy Tran.

Foreign jurors are also commissioned in such TV programs as “Chinh Phuc Dinh Cao” (Popstar to Operastar) and “Ngoi Sao Viet” (VK Pop Super Star).

Short-lived appeal

Despite intense competition and rampant fights, the appeal of such reality shows is quite short-lived.

Among the recently aired programs, “Nhan To Bi An” (The X-Factor) is being the most awaited, not for its reputation or appeal, but mostly for its purchase which coincided with FOX Broadcasting Co.’s closing of the original show after three years of poor performance.

There is a good reason for the concern for closure, as more than a few local versions of foreign shows have been closed down after only one or a few years of inadequate performance and poor viewing.

“Ngoi Nha Am Nhac” (Star Academy), which local company CATS purchased from Singapore, was pronounced “dead” after only one season.

“Hop Ca Tranh Tai” (Clash of the Choirs), which adopted a Swedish format, was bought by BHD Co. in 2012 but also disappeared merely after its first season.

“Taxi May Man” (Cash Cab), has also been put on hold after its first season.

This has thus given rise to increasing worry that shows which have triggered controversy to some extent such as “Sieu Dau Bep” (Iron Chef), “Vu Dieu Dam Me” (Got to Dance), “Nguoi Giau Mat” (Big Brother), “Tim Kiem Tai Nang Vietnam” (Vietnam’s Got Talent), “Ngoi Sao Thiet Ke Viet Nam” (Star Fashion) and “Chinh Phuc Dinh Cao” (Popstar to Operastar) may also end up in a shutdown.

The closure of a reality show is mostly due to poor ratings and insufficient sponsorship, but is sometimes planned ahead by the local producer.

To air their shows on the most-viewed channels (such as VTV3) at peak hours (from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm) on Fridays and weekends, which is also key to the success of the shows, local producers have to sign contracts to buy the “airing hours” for one year or a few years with television stations.

In return, producers are supposed to “fill up” the hours with their shows non-stop, which means they also air so-so programs local viewers may find culturally inappropriate.

According to Thuy Nga, CEO of K-Media Co., sometimes copyright holders of foreign shows also force local producers to buy less appealing formats for the right to purchase a currently well-loved one at a more reasonable price.

Smashed dreams

In the U.S. or other countries, where the appeal of such reality shows as American Idol endures, producers tend to behave considerately toward contestants in their shows, simply because they can be easily sued if offending or acting inappropriately toward them.

Meanwhile, after a few first years of acting with caution due to authorities’ stringent inspection, those in charge of reality shows in Vietnam have now increasingly taken their contestants for granted.

A number of experienced and young contestants have sadly shared that they were hugely disillusioned and dismayed since entering the casting rounds of several local versions of foreign reality shows.

Local producers of more than a few reality shows “feed” their contestants, including kids, with answers, keeping them from demonstrating their own skills or knowledge, or expressing their own opinions to attract more views.

The casting staff of such reality shows as “The Voice of Vietnam” and “The X- Factor” also try to lure as many contestants, particularly students, as possible.

T., who took part in one of this year’s shows, recounted that instead of providing background music while contestants compete onstage, the organizer required that they make a professional two-minute background music clip at a studio at their own costs.

When T. inquired further about where and how much to make the clip, one of the organizing board yelled offensively at her on the microphone in front of the other contestants if she could afford VND2 million (US$94) to make a clip.

T. left the show soon after that.

Meanwhile, S., from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, eagerly joined a reality singing show, performing songs typical of the area.

The show’s music director yelled out in front of other contestants that S.’s songs will appeal to no one in the audiences, and if S. could sing any other type of music.

J., a contestant from another Central Highlands province, who is a collector of ethnic minorities’ epics, partook in a reality show with his ethnic band, performing an ethnic song in the Kinh language, the standard Vietnamese language of the majority of Vietnamese people.

Juror Q., a famed singer, laughed down their performance and strongly suggested that J. and his ethnic friends should never perform ethnic songs in the Kinh language.

They soon left the show in dismay and promised never to return.

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