iQIYI cancels 'idol competition' shows amidst China's criticism of 'celebrity worship'

Chinese video streaming platform iQIYI is cancelling its idol competition shows, according to multiple media reports including Reuters. This comes after the Chinese government becomes critical of companies "encouraging celebrity worship". IQIYI's spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it takes its responsibility as an entertainment platform seriously. To uphold its duty as a responsible corporate citizen and help maintain a healthy online streaming environment, the company is cancelling its idol competition shows, and future iQIYI programmes will not feature any form of online voting.

According to Reuters, the Chinese government has criticised "idol competition" programmes for reportedly creating an "unhealthy fan culture". This came after celebrities such as pop star Kris Wu and actor Zhang Zhehan were embroiled in scandals recently.

IQIYI is known for several programmes including the variety show Youth With You. In May, the streaming platform cancelled the finale live stream of Youth With You 3 after it copped flak for milk wastage. Chinese dairy conglomerate Mengniu, which was behind the marketing campaign on the variety show, also apologised. The marketing stunt required viewers to buy Mengniu's bottled milk and scan the QR code inside the bottle caps to vote for their favourite contestant on the variety show. By purchasing more milk bottles, fans will increase contestants' chances of garnering more votes and winning. Multiple media outlets previously reported that fans ended up buying more milk than they could consume and resorted to disposing of the milk and only keeping the caps to scan the code.

Separately, China's Internet sector has also come under more scrutiny from the government. Last week, the government passed a data protection law detailing tougher rules on how companies collect and handle their users' information, CNBC reported. The Personal Information Protection Law comprises a comprehensive set of rules around data collection and protection.

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Photo courtesy: 123RF

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