Web shows shape future of programming

The 20-episode show was viewed more than 200 million times and featured as the "talk of the day" many times on social networks like micro blogs.

After a nationwide audition, the show brought together grassroots public speakers from diverse backgrounds and had them debate a given topic - often a controversial social phenomenon - in each episode.

Appreciated for its in-depth approach to social and cultural controversies, the show is also applauded by young audiences for its unrestricted style of expression and its frequent use of Internet-style languages.

"In this way, what the speakers try to say is more straightforward and more appealing. This is the power of Internet-based shows," says Jiang Bin, general manager of iQiyi's program development center.

While traditional media often tries to shape public opinion, Jiang says, "The Internet is a more open platform. It doesn't draw conclusions, nor does it try to educate. It tolerates different voices".

This particular feature of Internet programs is also attracting traditional broadcasters to go online.

For example, Shanghai Media Group, the owner of Shanghai-based Dragon TV, has launched an Internet program production center that makes programs to be exclusively run online. Its first production, a dating show jointly made with iQiyi, is expected to go online in June.

"We hope that TV stations can produce programs that are different from the current crop," says Lin Zhiqiang, deputy director of SMG's Internet program center, who spoke at the same industry forum.

"I hope through working with iQiyi, we'll make cultural products that appeal to the post-1990 generation and even that represent the future."