Chinese versions of EU shows unaffected by rights dispute (2)

Meanwhile, Zhejiang Satellite TV has announced that more than 100 celebrities have expressed an interest in appearing on their program.

Both of the Chinese shows will invite Olympic gold medalists as trainers.

Du Fang, vice-president of Zhejiang Satellite TV, told Tencent entertainment news that the models of the two shows are actually not the same.

Du said that the company studied the German and Dutch formats before starting the project.

"The German format is more like an adventure program, which includes many games besides diving, and the Dutch format is purely a diving show, which is what we want," he said.

The Chinese versions of the two shows, however, will both focus on diving, he said. His colleague Wang Zhengyu, who is responsible for publicity and promotion, added that it is hard to say which one is copying the other because both the German and Dutch formats have been approved overseas.

Importing the format of foreign shows is the norm in the TV industry, said Liu of Jiangsu TV.

"That we import formats from overseas does not mean we do not innovate. Instead, it shows our pursuit of high quality," he said.

"By studying the shows that we introduce, we are also developing."