Chinese variety show ‘Keep Running’ has reached its 14th season, but was recently embroiled in a controversy over charging high promotional fees to local cultural and tourism bureaus. The storm continues to grow, with rumors from supposed insiders that the show may be temporarily suspended. The program’s name has disappeared from Zhejiang TV’s schedule for this Friday, leading to suspicions that it has been taken down and suspended.
Currently, the Handan episode of ‘Keep Running’ originally scheduled to air at 7:30pm on June 12 is no longer listed on Zhejiang Satellite TV’s program schedule, replaced instead by a TV drama. After a staff member responded to media inquiries via their WeChat Moments, another insider revealed that ‘Keep Running’ has been confirmed suspended. Although it is not yet certain whether the suspension is permanent or temporary, a temporary suspension is more likely—after all, many episodes have already been recorded.
Since the ‘Keep Running’ production team became embroiled in this controversy over collecting promotional fees from filming locations, official documents from Quzhou Jiangshan, Macau, Taizhou and other locations have been successively exposed. Outsiders discovered that the production team may have collected between 6.7 million and 19.8 million RMB (about 4.02 million to 11.97 million MYR) in promotional fees, sparking intense controversy. Subsequently, someone claiming to be a Zhejiang TV insider responded to major media outlets in group chats, admitting to the collection of cultural tourism promotion fees, stating that this is ‘very normal and extremely common as a form of custom local culture and tourism content promotion.’ The staff member also said, ‘It is unrealistic to expect Zhejiang TV to support all local culture and tourism initiatives as purely charitable acts’, and emphasized, ‘Keep Running does not charge every filming location; for example, no fee was charged for shooting in Anyang’.
However, these responses not only failed to quell the storm but also triggered further attention and discussion among netizens. Some internet users summarized the publicly known revenue channels for ‘Keep Running’: In addition to the cultural and tourism segment funding, there are seven embedded advertisements, with the exclusive title sponsor reportedly contributing as much as 130 million RMB (about 77.95 million MYR); in addition, there are license fees from three online streaming platforms, as well as various forms of soft marketing relating to food, entertainment, clothing, accommodation, etc., along with peripheral collaborations, all of which constitute other revenue streams. While public opinion continues to simmer, many netizens are calling for the show to be suspended. Facing this wave of controversy, the ‘Keep Running’ production team has yet to give a direct response. Netizens are clearly dissatisfied, demanding an official explanation and investigation, and stating that the production team cannot expect to use suspension as a way to cool off public opinion or brush off the matter.