Godfrey Gao death highlights dark side of China’s reality TV craze
- Insider says high ratings and lucrative advertising revenues are driving the chase for young audiences looking for plenty of action and excitement
- Success can come at a price and there have been several cases of injuries and death in the world of celebrity reality shows
The death of Taiwanese-Canadian actor Godfrey Gao on Wednesday during filming of Chinese reality television showChase Me has highlighted the cutthroat competition and dubious standards surrounding these programmes.
One industry veteran – who has directed reality shows for a major provincial network in China – said high ratings and lucrative advertising revenues too often came at the expense of production quality and safety in the years since the craze for celebrity television first swept the country.
“It is all about the money and profits. You cannot solely blame the network for the death [of Gao],” said the director, who preferred not to reveal his network but does not work for Zhejiang Television, which produces Chase Me.
“Every player in the industry has something to do with creating this ecosystem as it is now.”
Advertisers were looking not only for viewer ratings but also the wider audience delivered by online exposure, which translated into high demand for entertainment shows because their audiences were often identified as young and active internet users, the director said.