Variety-show sponsorship fees tumble — but there are fewer brands to pick up the slack

Big audiences, small sponsor lists

Sisters Who Make Waves 7 (浪姐7) exploded into public attention — it has been reported that the premiere’s live viewership topped 90 million and platform reads hit over a billion in 12 hours. Yet the season’s commercial roster shrank to just five sponsors, and longtime title backer Jindian (金典) was absent. Reportedly, this pattern is widespread: big-name variety formats still draw headlines, but advertisers are voting with their wallets.

Falling ROI and changing metrics

Why the pullback? Audience fragmentation and declining marginal returns are the core reasons. It has been reported that 2025’s top-20 online variety shows saw total effective plays slip about 10% year‑on‑year, and classic “series” formats (综N代) no longer guarantee the payback they once did. Sponsorship benchmarks have dropped too — reportedly a market that once demanded 50–60 million RMB title fees now sees some S‑level slots go for as little as 20 million or even 1 million — but cheaper inventory hasn’t persuaded risk‑averse brand teams whose chief metric is conversion, not prestige.

New homes for marketing dollars

Brands are reallocating spend to short video, live commerce, state TV and offline activations where sales lift is clearer. Mengniu (蒙牛) and Yili (伊利) still report massive marketing budgets and have shifted significant dollars to Douyin (抖音), Xiaohongshu (小红书) and livestream channels; it has been reported that some dairy firms moved from heavy variety sponsorship to short‑video campaigns after seeing stronger conversion. At the same time, China Central Television (CCTV, 中央电视台) has increased commercial partnerships sharply, drawing alcohol and other advertisers back to its audience of older, higher‑spending viewers. New sponsors from AI and platform sectors — Du Xiaoman (度小满), Qianwen (千问), Xianyu (闲鱼), Ping An (中国平安), Ant’s insurance arm and Alipay (支付宝) — are filling some gaps, but can these newer players sustain the deep pockets once offered by fast‑moving consumer goods? That is the question facing producers and ad buyers alike.