CCTV’s Chinese New Year Gala, which takes place every year on the eve of Chinese New Year, and is the most widely watched annual TV show globally is currently streaming in China. Beginning at 8 pm China time, the show is not only an annual gala but also a summary of major events that have occurred in the past year and features famous celebrities, shows and other cultural references. The sketches and skits often focus on social issues: this year one act looked into the issue of ‘marriage pushing’ during Chinese New Year.
This year, top livestreamer Viya also gained a spot in the gala’s line-up. She is the first livestreamer to ever take part, symbolising the growing importance of China’s e-commerce industry. She hosted a livestream on Taobao during the show, which attracted 21.64 million viewers, and which was also shared to Weibo.
This year’s gala incorporated AI+VR 3D studio technology for the first time. The virtual production expanded the event from its usual on-stage format and aimed to offer viewers a sensory experience from their TV or mobile phones.
As an exclusive partner and provider of red envelopes for CCTV’s 2021 Chinese New Year Gala, Douyin had welcomed 217 million users to its livestream of the gala at the time of writing. Douyin planned to give out 1.2 billion RMB worth of red envelopes during the gala.
Taobao was the gala’s exclusive e-commerce partner and held various campaigns throughout the event, including distributing 2 billion RMB worth of red envelopes and a lucky draw to pay for Taobao users’ shopping carts. One lucky netizen won her 24,691 RMB ($3823) Taobao shopping cart for free.
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