The first season of STAR China's new singing competition "Sing! China" was number one in TV ratings for seven weeks and broke online records for video views.
In figures released by The Hollywood Reporter, "Sing! China" recorded a 30 percent national audience share which is five times more than the second show on the same timeslot.
Like all other singing competitions, singers in "Sing! China" compete and battle it out to be the country's next music superstar. The four judges, on the other hand, has to build a team out of the auditioning singers by racing in chariots to the stage, all to pick the contestant they want for their team. It is like "The Voice" but with chariots and racing.
In fact, the Dutch company Talpa Global even filed a lawsuit against STAR China for the "unauthorized" and "unlawful" actions in relation to "The Voice" format. STAR China was the previous producer of "The Voice of China" with Talpa Global, but the latter ended its deal with STAR Media and filed the said legal suit.
The winner is determined by the votes if the judging media panel and live audience, and shall receive record deals as prize winnings. Members of the coaching panel include Jay Chou, Na Ying, Wang Feng, and Harlem Yu.
STAR China, which stands for Satellite Television Asia Region, is a television service owned by China Media Capital (CMC). It is based in Hong Kong, with regional offices in mainland China, Taiwan, and India. According to their official website, Star China has more than 300 million viewers in 53 countries and is watched by approximately 120 million viewers daily.
In 1993, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation purchased 63.6% of STAR for over $500 million, followed by the purchase of the remaining 36.4% on 1 January 1993. On 9 August 2010, News Corporation signed an agreement with China Media Capital, which CMC acquired a controlling stake in STAR China's properties.In 2014, 21st Century Fox has sold its minority stake in the broadcaster STAR China TV to China Media Capital after finally giving up on the emerging Chinese television market.