TV series during the 'famine' period

Director Phuong Dien's rather large TV series project, The Opening Time, is currently in the production stage and has been put on hold. The reason: the production budget is too low to be able to produce.

Vietnamese film Winter Sun broadcast on OTT platform VieON and Netflix Asia - Pacific - Photo: DPCC

"We are trying to negotiate so that after the rainy season we can continue the project that has been prepared for more than two years," said director Phuong Dien.

Vietnamese movies are simple and boring

Director Phuong Dien, who is very passionate about the film project with elements about a period of the country's history, feels sad.

He said: "In the South, Vietnamese film production has been at the same price for many years, 180 - 200 million VND/episode, and some places even pay lower. This makes it very difficult to produce films with new themes that require investment in the setting. And if this continues, TV series "Vietnam is difficult to develop".

Movie Delay Opening hours is an example of the stagnation of Vietnamese television dramas over the past 10 years due to low budget.

So with TV series, the crew always has to tighten their belts to produce. That is also the reason why creativity is constrained, causing many people to criticize TV series for being stuck on simple, boring topics.

But we must also see positive signs coming from products broadcast on OTT online entertainment platforms.

To attract more registered users, many OTT units have promoted the production of separate programs, creating diversity in film production activities.

K+, VieON, Netflix, Galaxy Play... said that they have been and will be investing heavily in producing TV dramas - an indispensable form of entertainment for the people, not just buying back already produced films to broadcast.

At the movie premiere Winter Sun Broadcast on VieON, representative of M&T Pictures Film Studio said that besides producing films for Vinh Long and VTV9 TV channels, OTT is a very effective new path for this film studio.

Korean film Bargain won Best Screenplay at the 6th Cannes International Television Festival - Photo: DPCC

South Korea is also in trouble.

According to the Korea Times, South Korea is also having to "tighten its belt" to produce TV dramas because the country's television industry is facing many difficulties.

The country's three major broadcasters - SBS, MBC and KBS - all stopped airing dramas in their fourth and fifth hour, with tvN following suit.

Some movies that are broadcast on the Internet only open two days a week, for example Friday - Saturday or Saturday - Sunday, and stop the other times of the week. Many movies have had to temporarily stop production.

The Korea Creative Content Agency said that around 160 films were made in 2022, the highest number in three years. However, only around 100 films are confirmed for production in 2023.

Streaming platforms are also not doing well. Tving and Wave, two of South Korea's major streaming platforms, both posted significant losses last year. Media giant CJ ENM also suffered a major loss in its drama and film business in the first quarter of this year.

“Production costs skyrocket as OTTs pour in money. Actors’ and staff salaries are soaring. Producers can’t afford it without investment from streaming platforms. As platforms cut back on funding, they scrap projects that aren’t sure they’ll be able to recoup their costs,” a Korean director told The Korea Times.

Pop culture critic Ha Jae Geun believes that to survive in this shrinking market, producers and investors need to focus on creating better quality products.

The "hot" period of Korean movies is subsiding

Korean movie Squid Game is a hit in 2021 - Photo: DPCC

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in people turning to streaming services for entertainment. The industry has grown exponentially, with major investments in creating unique content to gain a foothold in the market.

2021 Korean movie Squid Game Netflix became a global craze, starting a huge boom in Korean dramas around the world . However, after the COVID-19 pandemic until now, the hot period of Korean dramas has begun to subside.

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