3 questions about the chinese drama industry

1. I don't get the logic behind the channels that air chinese dramas at all. I'm much more used to the korean industry, where dramas are announced at least a few weeks ahead, and air accordingly. However, I don't know how many chinese dramas I've come across that have announced a certain date, and yet fail to air it without any further information, and suddenly the air it, say, one year later. Why does that happen? Don't people get frustrated? And what about the chinese spectators? Do they have no idea about what is going to air on their television, or do things seem so random because the information is poorly communicated to us foreign internet viewers?

2. Also I don't understand why chinese dramas, that often have 30+ episodes, air in a couple days only. How does that work? For people like us that watch the shows on the internet at our own pace, it's better. But what about the people that actually live in China? Don't they watch the dramas on their TV? Does that mean they sit in front of the television, for example, 5 hours??? Do they not follow shows gradually, an hour or two per day at most, like with japanese/korean/american etc television?

3. And finally, are all chinese dramas pre-produced? It's common knowledge korean (and japanese as well I think) dramas are mostly live-shot, so an actor can only take so many projects in one year. But I noticed that while it's pretty rare to find a korean actor play over 3 lead roles in one year, it's pretty much the norm with chinese actors. So how much time does it take to shoot a chinese drama? Of the few I've seen, they seemed pretty well finished. A couple weeks? Months? Do the actors have a crazy schedule, and not rest at all?


Long questions :/

Thanks!

1. From what I've researched, broadcasting stations in China have a "quota" of how many dramas they can air from a certain genre/time period (historical costumes, modern, etc). This is an important reason as to why some dramas are pushed to the year after and in replacement, a drama from another genre/time period will be broadcasted. Within one year, many things can happen, so if any cast members or staff members of a drama get caught up in legal issues, that further delays the broadcast of the drama.

2. I believe all Chinese dramas were pre-produced so it's up to the broadcasting stations to determine how they want to air it. If they choose to air 2 episodes a day, 7 days a week, then they can do that. It's not like this for every drama or for every broadcasting station. I'm pretty sure not everyone has the time to catch up to their dramas, but from what I know, popular dramas are usually aired at night. If people don't catch it, they'll probably download it and watch it on their phones the next day. Some probably just wait until it gets re-broadcasted (which happens frequently).

3. Chinese dramas usually take from approximately 3 months to a year and a half to be produced. It's not like they're broadcasting and making the drama at the same time. They try to find the right climate, the right scenery, like other countries' dramas. So actors and actresses can be casted and shoot the drama, then it's up to the production team to edit and finalize it. Eventually a drama will be aired and if a certain actor/actress is really popular after that initial drama, broadcasting stations are more likely to broadcast dramas with that actor/actress in it within the same year to keep up the hype.