HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam National Television (VTV) on Saturday will launch a new weekly game show on start-ups on Channel 3.

The game show, which will bring mobile applications closer to users, is expected to inspire young people to turn their dreams and ideas into reality.

This is the first game show on national television to feature the use of mobile phone applications.

“It's a great opportunity for start-ups,” said one of the game show’s advisers, Đào Xuân Hoàng, CEO of Early Start Company, at a press conference on Wednesday in Hà Nội. 

“More than a decade ago, starting a business with technology was a far-reaching concept, but now more and more young people are choosing to start their own business,” he said. “Start-up companies face a lot of difficulties, so this game show will help them access users and product promotions.”

The game show's format, which was developed by Vietnamese, will help the audience learn about mobile applications and application programmers, and how to create and run similar projects.

The game show consists of three rounds. The first round has eight episodes with three teams each. At the end of the round, 12 out of 24 teams will go to the next round, including the eight winning applications from each episode and four selected by the advisory council.

The second round includes two battles and six episodes. One battle will be to upgrade an application at the request of the advisory council. In the other, the players will participate in a pre-determined situation based on application features and feedback from the audience.

The teams with the highest score, as well as one team selected by the advisory council, will compete in the final round.

The final round, which will air live on TV, will feature interactions with TV viewers, including investors.

Participants in the game show include Manmo, iMotor, Telepro, Vihago and Triptour, among others.

The ManMo app offers accommodations and homestays at flexible prices, while iMotor, in an effort to provide transparent information to consumers, produces technical information about motorbikes and cars. This information helps owners take care of and repair their vehicles without worrying about being cheated. The Vihago app helps passengers conveniently book vehicles for transport.

The advisory council consists of prestigious experts and advisors in many fields who can provide in-depth judgments and strategic directions on how to upgrade technology projects.

The council members are Vũ Minh Trí, deputy general director of the VNG Group; specialist Mai Duy Quang, director of TOPICA Founder Institute and deputy chairman of Việt Nam Information Technology and Software Association (VINASA); and Đào Ngọc Chiến, deputy director of the high technology department at the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The game show is a co-operation between VTV and the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group. It will be broadcast at noon every Saturday on VTV3. — VNS