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| ▲ This photo, provided by tvN and Tving, show TV directors Jung Jong-yeon, Kim Min-seok, Min Cheol-ki, and Lee Tae-kyung. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Apr. 26 (Yonhap) – As a series of star TV directors have transferred, the entertainment industry is having troubled times.
According to the entertainment scene on Apr. 26, popular TV directors, who have produced CJ ENM’s flagship entertainment shows, including “You Quiz on the Block,” “Amazing Saturday,” and “Girls’ High School Mystery Class,” have either showed intentions to leave the company or already quit the job.
Meanwhile, JTBC has been concentrating on recruiting TV directors from other broadcasting companies, including CJ ENM.
Among TV directors who left the broadcasting company, some establish a small agency called label and others transfer to independent production companies or OTT(Over-the-top media service) businesses.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by CJ ENM, shows CJ ENM. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ CJ ENM faces outflow of human capital…production crew of flagship entertainment show ‘You Quiz on the Block’ examines transfer
CJ ENM, which was dubbed contents “giant” and produced many new entertainment shows by recruiting star TV directors for years, is recently facing an outflow of human capital.
TV directors Kim Min-seok and Park Geun-hyung of tvN’s “You Quiz on the Block,” which caused controversy over the appearance of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol last week, are the representative examples.
“You Quiz on the Block,” which was first aired in August, 2018, is a flagship entertainment show that has received great attention on tvN, where many seasonal programs are produced.
TV director Min Cheol-ki of tvN’s music entertainment program “Mama The Idol,” which drew attention by portraying a comeback stage of former idols, including Ka-hi and Sun-ye, has finalized the procedure of transfer to JTBC, and is planning to go to work by the end of the month. It is in 5 years since he transferred to tvN in 2017 after making a hit with the music entertainment show “King of Mask Singer” on MBC.
Moreover, TV director Lee Tae-kyung of “Life Bar” and “Amazing Saturday” and director Jung Jong-yeon, who produced mystery entertainment series, such as “The Genius,” “Great Escape,” and “Girls’ High School Mystery Class,” left CJ ENM and is currently examining his participation in director Kim Tae-ho’s production company.
The transfer of star TV directors who successfully launched programs has begun since years ago.
However, there was a series of people leaving the company during the same period of time, which led to the rumor that the company was not able to hold on to the competitive TV producers due to their internal problems.
◇ Studio·OTT recruit ‘Star TV directors’…broadcasting companies get in trouble
The outflow of human capital that CJ ENM is currently facing is something that other broadcasting companies have experienced from many years ago.
While CJ ENM brought TV directors from terrestrial TV channels in the past, OTT businesses and other production companies are now busy recruiting “star TV directors.”
TV producer Kwon Jae-young of KBS’ “Immortal Songs” transferred to the production company A9 Media in February, while director Min Seon-hong of “Law of the Jungle” who left SBS last year is known to have transferred to Disney Plus. Director Ahn Sang-hwi, who produced tvN’s “SNL Korea,” which drew attention for its political satires, moved to AStory and newly presented “SNL Korea” through Coupang Play.
As a result of these situations, the broadcasting companies are very concerned.
In particular, producers do not have enough production cost for TV entertainment shows compared to OTT, and complaints have been accumulated over the tight schedule of completing the broadcast based on the planned schedule.
A staff from the broadcasting company said, "As times have changed, the ransom of entertainment producers has risen, and the producer itself has become a brand," adding, "In order to continue working with producers who succeeded in contents, we have to secure them by giving benefits, and we are currently thinking of a method.”
Among the broadcasting companies, JTBC is recently recruiting a series of entertainment producers.
JTBC has constantly brought TV entertainment directors ahead of the recruitment of directors Kim Min-cheol, Kim Min-seok, and Park Geun-hyung.
Producer Jang Si-won, who directed "The Iron Squad" and "The Fisherman and the City" on Channel A, introduced "The Strongest Baseball(translated)," an entertainment show displaying the comeback of legendary baseball players including Lee Seung-youp, while producer Sung Chi-kyung, who moved from MBC, unveiled "We Kick Together" and "Jump like a Witch."
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Tving, shows TV director Kim Tae-ho. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ TV director Kim Tae-ho and others stand on their own
Recently, producers seem to prefer places that are guaranteed some independence in content production.
The most representative case is director Kim Tae-ho, who left MBC this year. Kim established a new production company and revealed the show “Seoul Check-in,” which depicts Lee Hyo-ri’s daily life in Seoul, on Tving.
In a recent interview, director Kim replied that he was relieved that he was no longer informed about the ratings the morning after the broadcast, and that he was satisfied as he has relatively more time to produce content as well as increased autonomy in terms of genre.
In fact, producers hope that their rights to content will be recognized as creators rather than "salarymen" belonging to broadcasting companies, and they also wish that content will be known overseas through global platforms, such as OTT and YouTube.
A TV director who moved from a terrestrial TV channel to a new media platform said, "These days, there are many cases where producers leave a broadcasting company and set up an independent production company or go to a production studio founded by producers, rather than transferring to another broadcasting company” adding, “I think they are trying to secure Intellectual Property(IP) since they only receive salary no matter how their programs become popular.”
He added regarding the expansion of content into the global market, "The old media stays in the domestic market no matter how well it is made, but the OTT platforms provide opportunities to reach even more viewers."
Furthermore, as YouTube contents, which have no constraints on subject matter or format, are gaining more popularity than TV entertainment shows, people seem to prefer a production environment where they can try new things according to the changed trend.
Another entertainment producer who left the broadcasting company said, “In the existing broadcasting channel, we have to consider a set time of 60 minutes and 120 minutes, and there was inevitably restrictions on subject, item, and format,” adding, “The new media platform is attractive in terms of how directors can freely make diverse challenges without being tied up by a fixed format.”
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