Mnet Explains Their Stance On The Chinese Survival Show That Plagiarized “Produce 101”

Mnet finally made a statement regarding claims that iQiyi’s Idol Producer copied the concept and ideas of Produce 101.

Idol Producer is a Chinese reality boy group survival show produced by iQiyi, which aired its first episode on January 19, 2018.

Mnet first addressed the fact that the show is a little too similar to their show.

“iQiyi’s show Idol Producer closely resembles Produce 101 in ideology, composition, system, visual design and more. It caused a lot of misunderstanding and speculations among the Produce 101 fans and viewers.”

— Mnet

And they clarified that the Chinese show is not a licensed replica.

“With this in mind, Mnet did not take part in producing iQiyi’s Idol Producer in any way. We are making it clear that we didn’t cooperate in any form. At the same time, we are saddened by the fact that Mnet’s intellectual property rights have been infringed.”

— Mnet

Idol Producer has been under fire for blatantly copying Produce 101‘s concept and designs since its early stages in production.

Despite the criticism, the show aired without changing their theme and received over 100 million views on its pilot episode.

Top Chinese K-Pop idols, such as EXO’s Lay, GOT7’s Jackson, Cosmic Girls’ Cheng Xiao, PRISTIN’s Kyulkyung, and more are featuring on the show.