REALITY TV SHOW: A MALAYSIAN PERSPECTIVE Norzieiriani Ahrnad Faculty of Business Management Universiti Utara Malaysia 060 10 Sintok Kedali Halirn Mad Lazirn Noraini Othrnan Faculty of Technology Management Universiti Utara Malaysia 060 10 Sintok Kedah ABSTRACT For a number of years now: Reality TV lias become tlie in-thing in Malaysian television. Since the introduction of Akademi Fantasirr and Malqy.rian Idol were aired in 2001 the attention of everyone lias been tuned in to reality television, and as expected, there is n proliferation of reality shows on Malaysian television scene. These two programs were such a huge coininercial success both for the ASTRO and Media Prima brands along with their sponsors, thus opening the floodgate for what is now beconling a revolution. Moreover, sighting a unique business opportunity in the concept of reality TV, many organizations and TV producers are coming up with their own ideas which, in most cases, are only slightly different from what we know and have seen already, as they all draw from the same pool of original idea. But, why has the concept of reality TV gained such popularity?. It is the objective of this paper to study the emergence of local reality TV programs and its contributions in promoting positive and family values for Malaysian viewers. INTRODUCTION The impact of television on its viewers lias been docuineiited by decades of research. Some of this impact is negative, but social marketers have long recognized that when television contains positive messages it can also have a positive effect. In other word, it can be used to educate as well as entertain, inspire as well as provide escape. Television has long served as a source of information for viewers on various topics. In recent years, a new form of television entertainment has exploded onto tlie scene, that is "reality TV". Reality TV is now generally defined as a television program that feature inembers of tlie public in unusual situations, often competing for a prize, and ofieil involving audience participation. When the year 2000 came, many people thought that significant changes were going to occur. One change that very few people anticipated was the explosion of popularity of reality TV programs. Ever since the television program Sui-vivor's huge success in 2000 in North America, the reality television genre became intensely popular. Subsequently, many new reality programs have been launched everywhere. According to Yooii and Garina (20061, the dramatic rise in the popularity of reality television programs at the present time can be considered as phenomenal in the world media landscape. Many reality programs have created history in terms of people's participation and revenue generation. Therefore, it is the aim of this paper to describe tlie nature of reality TV shows, provide an overview of these entertainment scenarios particularly in Malaysia and analyze some possible implications of these shows to Malaysian viewers.