With the end of “Talk Show Conference (Season 4)”, the laughing fruit culture behind it is also speeding up.
On October 29, Shanghai Xiaoguo Performing Arts Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xiaoguo Performing Arts”) undergoes an industrial and commercial change, and the company’s registered capital increased from 5 million yuan to 380 million yuan, an increase of 7500%.
The “Daily Economic News” reporter noted that the company is a subsidiary of Shanghai Xiaoguo Culture Media Co., Ltd. (“Xiaoguo Culture” for short), and Xiaoguo Culture holds 95% of its shares. Regarding the above-mentioned industrial and commercial changes, Xiaoguo Culture told reporters: “Normal industrial and commercial changes require business development.”
From “Tucao Conference” to “Talk Show Conference”, from Li birthday to Xiaoguo culture, talk show culture is getting out of the circle. Well-known director and actor Xu Zheng once said that the popularity of talk shows has brought fresh blood to the comedy industry.
Image source: Official Weibo of Tucao Conference
Nowadays, as more and more young people like talk shows, comedy and other shows, these young comedy cultures are becoming the leading players of “sweet pastry” and variety shows in the traffic world, attracting major capital and platforms. One after another entered the game.
It is reported that in addition to the “Talk Show Conference (Season 4)” that Tencent Video just concluded, and the “Annual Comedy Competition” that iQiyi is currently broadcasting, there will also be “Twice Specially Happy” and “Hot and Go Laugh” in the future. “Carina Show” and many other comedy and talk show variety shows.
Bringing the fire talk show Xiaoguo Culture to complete 7 rounds of financing in 5 years
Xiaoguo Performing Arts was established in 2016. The legal representative is Ye Feng. Its business scope is mainly film and television art prop setting services, advertising production, etc. The shareholders behind it are Xiaoguo Culture and Guo Linghong. Among them, Guo Linghong was the new shareholder on October 29.
Talking about the laughing fruit culture is not about talk shows and the artist Li Dan. Four years ago, the “Tucao Conference” jointly launched by Tencent Video and Xiaoguo Culture exploded. This program in which stars complain about each other, has a single broadcast volume of up to 200 million.
The popularity of programs such as “Tucao Conference” and “Talk Show Conference” not only made Li Dan become famous overnight and became the top-notch in the comedy field, but also created the laughing fruit culture, allowing capital to pay attention to the new field of “talk show”. Up to now, there are as many as 14 companies under the control of Xiaoguo Culture.
According to data from Qixinbao, there are 14 shareholders behind Xiaoguo Culture, of which Ye Feng is the largest shareholder, with a shareholding ratio of 31.57%; Ningbo Meishan Free Trade Port Zone Zexi Equity Investment Partnership is the second largest shareholder, Guangxi Tencent Venture Capital Co., Ltd. is the third largest stock, with a shareholding ratio of 13.58% and 12.55% respectively. Li Dan (real name Li Ruichao) is the seventh largest shareholder with a shareholding ratio of approximately 4.58%.
Image source: Maoyan Professional Edition
Since 2016, Xiaoguo Culture has completed 7 rounds of financing, including some well-known investors such as Price Capital, Chinese Culture, and Tencent Investment. In March of this year, Xiaoguo Culture completed the latest round of strategic investment with Tencent.
Every reporter noticed that in the first two rounds of investment in Xiaoguo Culture, there was Wang Sicong’s Price Capital. However, at the end of 2020, Price Capital has withdrawn from the ranks of shareholders of Xiaoguo Culture.
As an early investor, Wang Sicong once publicly stated: “Tucao Conference is really better than other variety shows. The first time I watched it exceeded my imagination and expectations. As an investor, I think this is something young people like. This is the direction of comedy consumption upgrade that I am optimistic about.”
With the continuous blessing of several rounds of financing, there have been media reports that the valuation of Xiaoguo Culture once reached 3 billion yuan, and Li Dan’s net worth has also soared. There are many kinds of variety shows, endorsement advertising, and investment. At present, there are as many as 5 Li Dan investment companies.
Nearly 50 young comedy cultures from national talk show labels have become leading players in variety shows
The talk show went out of the circle.
As a young comedy culture, many young people are now in love with talk shows, and the market is quietly changing. Take the recent “Talk Show Conference (Season 4)” as an example, the highest popularity in history has exceeded 4 million, the cumulative broadcast volume is nearly 3 billion, and the Douban score is 7.6.
In October last year, Li Dan once frankly confessed to every reporter that the obvious change in the past few years is that the public has a higher degree of acceptance of talk shows. “At least during the interview, I don’t need to explain what a talk show is. I used to have a classic question. Others would ask me what is the difference between a talk show and a cross talk. I have not heard this kind of question since last year.”
The popularity of online shows also drove offline shows to a certain extent. The “2018 China Young Comedy Audience Consumption Big Data Report” shows that young comedy audiences are mainly 18 to 29 years old, and nearly half of their personal monthly income is more than 10,000 yuan, and their spending power cannot be underestimated.
Image source: report screenshot
The huge market potential has attracted major capital to enter the talk show industry. In recent years, new and old brands such as Beijing Talk Show Club, Comedy Union Box Country, Banana Club, Funny Talk Show, Sugar Garlic Shop, and Niyue Talk Show have emerged in endlessly. According to the relevant data of the 2020 6th Shanghai International Comedy Festival, there are nearly 50 new talk show labels nationwide in 2020.
At the same time, talk shows are changing from a comedy category to a new vertical entertainment track. The young comedy culture is becoming the leading player in variety shows, and major platforms and satellite TVs are focusing on the layout.
This year, as soon as Xiaoguo Culture and Tencent Video’s “Talk Show Conference (Season 4)” ended, Miwei Media and iQiyi’s “Annual Comedy Competition” announced a high-profile official announcement, which was called a variety show “popular” Ma Dong of “Machining Machine” set his sights on comedy early, and once again succeeded in getting out of the circle.
Satellite TV is also eager to try. Dragon TV, which has produced popular shows such as “Happy Comedians” and “Venus Show”, will launch “Twist Special Happy”, “Steamy Laugh” and “Start shooting!” in 2022 in one go! “Sitcoms”, “Carina Show” and “Leisure Point” 6 new comedies and talk show variety shows. Among them, the well-known artist Carina Lau will challenge the role of talk show host for the first time across the border, opening a new talk show “Carina Show”.
