Industry insiders reveal: Sports stars must first pass three thresholds to participate in variety shows

Cheung Guowei’s appearance on variety shows has caused a lot of controversy recently.

Su Bingtian

Sun Yang

Fu Yuanhui

Sun Wei

Dong Li

Wu Dajing

Zou Shiming

Zhang Jike

Lin Dan

Pan Xiaoting

Zhang Guowei

In April 2019, Fu Yuanhui won two gold medals in the International Swimming Federation, but the media focused on her recently completed variety show "My Girl." Variety shows are no longer just a "show" for celebrities. More and more athletes are also diving into it. Tian Liang, Sun Yang, Zhang Jike, Dong Li and others have participated in many variety shows one after another. Recently, the Winter Olympics champion Wu Dajing also sparked heated discussions among netizens after joining "That Boy in My Family 2" to talk about his love life for the first time. However, while "crossing over" from the highly focused sports field to the extremely tempting entertainment industry, while promoting the spirit of sports, the outside world is also worried about whether these athletes can persist in doing their jobs well. In March 2019, it was reported online that high jumper Zhang Guowei was punished by the national team for going out privately to participate in commercial activities. Although Zhang Guowei responded via Weibo that his leadership showed understanding and tolerance, he was still fighting on the front line of the national team. But this seems to turn a sports star into a new variety show star. Is it a successful crossover or not doing his job properly? To answer this question, reporters from the Beijing News took stock of sports stars with variety show experience and their performance trends, and interviewed people in the industry.

Why do athletes appear on variety shows?

Variety show dimension

Athletes are very real, and the show needs new faces

Variety shows have invited athletes to join, dating back to 2014, such as "Run" and "Where Are We Going, Dad?" 》 and other outdoor reality shows have become a new trend in the TV market. The large and diversified guest demand for such programs provides opportunities for sports stars to enter the entertainment industry.

This trend has developed particularly obviously after the 2016 Rio Olympics. Not only are sports variety shows such as "Come on Champion" and "Chinese Champion" springing up like mushrooms after rain, a large number of outdoor reality shows are also taking advantage of the Olympics and inviting athletes who have won championships or performed unexpectedly in the Olympics to join. Among them, "Big White Poplar" Sun Yang, "Prehistoric Girl" Fu Yuanhui, "Tibetan Mastiff" Zhang Jike, Hui Ruoqi and others have become new favorites in variety shows. Fu Yuanhui's father once said in an interview that after the summer of 2016, both of them stopped working and focused on helping their daughter take care of matters other than sports.

“The Olympics are a national concern, and athletes’ fans are regardless of age or gender. They have a healthy image and can ensure topicality and popularity. Therefore, when a large number of celebrities appear in variety shows, athletes can bring more content to the audience. How fresh it is," said D, a variety show director who has produced reality shows. In addition, "Athletes usually behave very realistically on camera. They don't know how to act and are not good at acting. For example, we want to do an outdoor reality show. Many celebrities with strong sense of talent are familiar faces from variety shows. , There is no way to bring surprises to the show. On the contrary, athletes are the most popular amateurs. "And the needs of the show must also be taken into consideration when inviting guests. For example, Yan Ji, the chief director of "Daughters' Love" revealed that in the early stages of preparation for the program, the guest list included a cultural and sports star, because as a program that captures the love attitudes of contemporary young people and shows the subtle relationships between fathers, daughters, and daughter's boyfriends, Observational variety shows need to more comprehensively radiate to different workplace backgrounds and occupational categories. They cannot just be actors or singers. Sports is a priority career field.

"Fu Yuanhui is so unique. Everything she performs in front of the camera is extremely real. She doesn't even understand what a sense of artistry is. Her special status as an athlete also makes her life and star , Ordinary people are different. So to our show, she can bring a different color and will not easily compete with any star.

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Advertisers compete for titles

Among the types of variety shows in which athletes participate, sports variety shows account for the vast majority. For example, "Big Ice Captain" is a variety show that promotes ice hockey. Invite Wu Dajing as a flying guest. The staff of the program said that as an Olympic champion in short track speed skating, Wu Dajing is one of China’s most famous ice and snow athletes and the current spokesperson for “China’s ice and snow sports.” Although ice hockey and short track speed skating There are still differences between skating and skating, but they are all ice sports. Wu Dajing can not only use his image as an athlete to better promote ice and snow sports, but also teach children how to become an ice and snow athlete from a professional perspective in the program. "

Top sports stars not only bring popularity to sports variety shows, title sponsors also compete to invest money in the name of Olympic champions. The person in charge of an advertising company revealed that many domestic products hope to ride on " "National Team" and "Sports" have enriched their own brand culture. For example, sports brands prefer to sponsor national teams or athletes, and domestic dairy products, grains and oils start bidding for advertising and naming during the Olympic Games several years in advance; and now, there are Sports variety shows with athletes joining have also become a must-have. “Theoretically, even if a world champion joins, compared to pure star competitive variety shows, due to low expectations of popularity, the title price will be relatively low. Therefore, for some brands that are not in a hurry to launch new products, sponsoring programs or sports variety shows involving athletes is not only cost-effective, but also more conducive to strengthening their global trade image and improving domestic consumers' trust in the brand. . ”

Sports Dimension

Athletes hope that the outside world will know more

Following Fu Yuanhui’s performances outside the game in programs such as “My Girl” and “Daughters’ Love” After the real uprightness of "Prehistoric Girl", Wu Dajing also showed a completely different side from the athletes in "My Boy 2". Different from the rigorous and serious image of the captain of the Chinese short track speed skating team on the field, Wu Dajing in private. Jing is more like a fun-loving big boy who wants to try bungee jumping but is very timid. His Northeastern humor also attracts countless fans.

In the audience’s impression, athletes undergo hard and boring training all year round. , life is all about competing and winning, and reality shows have brought them closer to ordinary audiences. Many athletes have revealed in interviews that the most important reason for participating in variety shows is to let the outside world know more about themselves besides athletes. "We are also ordinary people, we also have holidays, and besides normal training and competitions, we also want to experience other interesting things. Fencer Sun Wei said frankly that he once participated in "One Stop" as a contestant, showing his knowledge level; and the parent-child intergenerational reality show "The Most Beautiful Time" made up for his 15 years of not being able to go home to spend the New Year with his mother. regret, “In the two variety shows I participated in, I got to know people from other industries and learned about their work and living conditions. At the same time, it also allows them and the audience in front of the camera to learn more about the athletes and eliminate their misunderstanding that athletes have simple minds and well-developed limbs. ”

Some people in the sports industry believe that athletes participate in variety shows to seek more opportunities for transition after retirement. After all, athletes’ careers are limited, and it is difficult for the domestic system to ensure that they continue to engage in relevant jobs and receive better treatment. . Therefore, we have seen that many athletes who have passed their prime can participate in variety shows to get relatively generous rewards and test the entertainment industry. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Meet the needs of sports promotion

Except for major sports events such as the Olympic Games and World Championships, non-sports fans rarely pay attention to the field of sports in daily life, or are influenced by it to fall in love with a certain sport . Athletes popularize sports and athletes' real training conditions through entertainment and commercialization, which is undoubtedly more conducive to the daily promotion of national sports. For example, "My Girl" once showed that Fu Yuanhui had no choice but to change her address. Report in time, encounter the emergency urine test conducted by FINA at night, and rush to the specified location within an hour. For the first time, the daily routine of athletes' urine test is presented to the public.

Sun Yang also took celebrity guests to experience the daily training of swimmers in "The Great Challenge". Basketball expert commentator Zhang Weiping once expressed his support for athletes to participate in variety shows at the "Tucao Conference", "What's wrong with sports stars participating in variety shows? It's very reasonable! In this mature industry, participating in entertainment is to better promote sports."

When athletes choose variety shows, they also consider their promotional role in the sports field. For example, athletes such as Guo Jingjing, Zhang Jike, and Wu Minxia have participated in "The Amazing Race". The show's director Zhang Yi once said that what impressed them was the Olympic concept of the show, "We are looking for ten Olympic cities, and there will also be some Olympic events. Guo Jingjing is an Olympic champion, and Huo Qigang’s family is engaged in promoting sports and the Olympics. They all have watched this show and think it is very suitable.”

How do athletes get involved in variety shows?

Behind the Scenes

It is necessary to ensure that the athletes are not physically injured

Inviting athletes is far more difficult than inviting celebrities. It requires going through the sports department, management team, and athletes. The threshold. There are two ways to invite athletes: active athletes and retired athletes. Among them, retired athletes usually can negotiate with their brokerage teams; but many active athletes are under the dual management of the sports system authorities and brokerage teams. For example, Wu Dajing has a management team and also belongs to the Chinese National Short Track Speed ??Skating Team. For active athletes, to participate in variety shows or commercial performances, they first need to obtain permission from the Sports Management Center and submit a report application. Industry insiders have revealed that the relevant authorities have different attitudes towards recording variety shows. “They want to promote players or projects, but they are relatively cautious.” Sun Wei said frankly that usually they do not affect the training and competition status. , the team will support such activities, "But sometimes I understand why they don't approve it. The most important thing is that they are worried about something happening to us. We have been together for many years and we trust each other very much."

Athletes The management team’s requirements for variety show security levels and title sponsors are no lower than those of celebrities. For example, Sun Yang, Su Bingtian, etc. still have to participate in various domestic and international competitions in the same year when they participate in variety shows. Therefore, the program team must ensure that they are in good physical condition. "First of all, they must not be injured. They must not be allowed to do some more dangerous game sessions." Participated." Director D said frankly. In addition, many athletes are also burdened with national commercial endorsements. Athletes will also think more about the exclusivity of program advertisements and brand exposure before participating in the program.

Participating in programs and daily training will not be delayed

Sun Yang, who has participated in more than ten variety shows, once said in an interview that he has never delayed his training and performance and will do it as soon as he has time. When I go into the water, sometimes it’s already 11 or 12 o’clock in the night when I return to the hotel, but I still do some exercise. Once the recording plan conflicts with normal training, athletes usually give priority to not delaying training. "Daughters' Love" only recorded Fu Yuanhui's private dating process with male guests, so each recording time was staggered in advance with her training schedule. "She first considered her reasonable and normal training plan and recorded it for us. In fact, there is not much time. ”

In addition to training before important games, athletes also have normal rest days and holidays like normal office workers. Usually variety show recordings, commercial performances, etc. are arranged during holidays. "For athletes, try not to delay training and choose to participate in (variety shows) during breaks. Occasionally, if you miss a day, you will make up for your training." Sun Wei said, Every professional team and individual situation is different, but usually athletes will allocate training and rest time with self-discipline and concentration, "and you will find that you are more motivated when training. What you see and hear is also applicable to fencing training." It’s helpful. For example, in a game we need to react instantly based on the opponent’s situation, then I’m exposed to a lot of new things, which is very helpful for me to analyze the game and my opponent.

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■ One point of view

The benefits of athletes participating in variety shows outweigh the disadvantages

In an era when sports have become a popular topic, athletes have become guests in variety shows. for athletes, variety shows are also regarded as the best leisure experience or way to make money after training. However, after participating in many variety shows, Dong Li chose to retire and join the entertainment industry; it is reported on the Internet that some athletes were contacted privately. There are many conflicts between activities and the national team... How should athletes maintain a balance in the world outside sports that is anxious, chaotic and full of temptations?

According to sports media person Li Le, an athlete's job is to train? , competition. However, considering the current environment, especially well-known athletes, while achieving excellent results, they also gain a large number of fans and will become popular in variety shows from the perspective of market expansion. It seems that it is a normal trend for athletes to participate in variety shows without delaying training. "Of course, each event and each sports team has its own unique rules and management systems. Participating in variety shows during the offseason or between trainings is a normal trend. It can relax and adjust the state of mind, and can also increase exposure, which is beneficial to promoting projects and broadening the scope of athletes' lives. Therefore, there are still many benefits to participating in variety shows in moderation. Besides, the fighting spirit of athletes is also an inspiration to the audience. ”

Sun Wei believes that athletes are no longer isolated in the training ground. In the era of information explosion, there are too many channels for more people to understand the different sides of athletes, but whether it is Whether you are in the entertainment industry or other circles, the most important thing is to control yourself. "Remaining true to your original intention is the most important thing for athletes. ”