VietNamNet Bridge – With the law stipulating that half of all television films should be locally made, private studios have stepped in to assist State-owned studios, making the market intensely competitive.

Small-screen stars: Minh Dat (right) and Anh Thu star in M&T Pictures’ popular TV series Hoa Thien Dieu (A Bird in Paradise), aired on HTV9 at 6pm from Wednesday to Saturday.

The two established brands, the Viet Nam Film Company and the HCM City Film Studio, can only manage 200-300 episodes between them.

Private studios, some of whom are also big advertisers, quickly got into the lucrative business.

They make films in exchange for commercial spots during the programmes that they are free to sell, turning it into a multi-billion dong business.

Both Viet Nam Television (VTV) and HCM City Television (HTV) are generous in allocating primetime slots to coveted “phim Viet” (Vietnamese series) to private studios.

Mounting pressure

VTV currently has two phim Viet slots while HTV has at least four, spanning from early evening to near midnight, not to mention re-runs on provincial channels.

Couch potatoes can thus expect up to six new episodes of Vietnamese films in a single day.

This endless cycle prompted studios to try various methods to speed up things and meet tight deadlines.

But this has sparked concerns that the films are of poor quality.

But the entrance of many players into the market has sparked off fierce competition for eyeballs, especially during the overlapping prime time slots on the different channels.

Market saturated

Early serials earned unprecedented ratings of 40-50 per cent, dream numbers in the TV industry.

Serials like Vong Xoay Tinh Yeu (Love Spiral) produced by Lasta, Tuyet Nhiet Doi (Tropical Snow) produced by M&T Pictures sparked lively discussions among fans, whilst Co Gai Xau Xi (The Ugly Girl, a version of world-famous Ugly Betty) has seen its popularity spiralling.

But the market appears to have reached saturation. Ratings have dropped to single digits with many serials struggling to retain viewers.

Cliched and superficial themes, poor acting, and sloppy direction are exacerbating the decline.

Updating technologies, improving training, and defining the relationship between art and technique are some of the measures being studied to shore up quality.

(Source: Viet Nam News)