iQiyi, the Asian streaming platform owned by Baidu, is meeting with production outfits at Hong Kong Filmart to discuss its future plans in original production and how AI will help streamline the process.
“Audiences in mainland China are becoming more sophisticated and are increasingly looking for premium content,” Kelvin Yau, iQiyi’s president for Asia Pacific and overseas marketing, told Screen. “Instead of being able to invest in around, say, 40 dramas a year, we are now looking at less quantity but at a much higher quality so our users stay longer with our service.”
Two weeks ago, the company reported a 10% increase in revenue to $4.5bn (RMB31.9bn) in the year to December. However, its number of total subscribers was 101.1 million as of December 31, 2023, down 15% on 119.7 million year-on-year.
“The question for the industry as a whole is how do you keep making premium, high quality content,” he said. “It was originally a sprint for all the streamers to get market share but at the end of 2022 we took on a new strategy. It is not just a sprint, it is a marathon so how do we win in a longer, more sustainable way? It is by delivering really high-quality premium content consistently. That consistency is so important, especially for a platform like us where subscription renewal becomes a challenge in different markets.”
Yau highlighted a commitment to produce around 30 projects in Thailand in the next two years and 12 in Malaysia, with plans for more.
According to big data platform Enlightent, iQiyi broadcast seven out of the top 10 most-viewed new dramas in the market in 2023. The platform giant also dominated online film streaming with a total viewership share of 47%.
“A genre that is working really well for us is Xianxia – a mix of martial arts, romance and costume dream in a fantasy world,” said Yau. “But we also have crime-related dramas that also work well and have created the Light On series, which has been very well received by the audience.”
Mastering AI
With its origins as a technology firm, iQiyi has been a pioneer in the use of AI and AIGC (Artificial Intelligence Generated Content), covering the content lifecycle – from development and production to marketing.
“We have been using AI to help pick the best scripts and projects for us,” said Yau. “We use it to cross check against the most trendy topics and themes being talked about in the internet. On the production side, character sketches can two weeks to be hand drawn but AIGC can do it in one day, meaning we have 13 days extra to work on other areas of improvement.
“A lot of our marketing campaign materials that we use on social media is also co-created by AIGC. The market changes so fast and audiences need something fresh every day. This is what we’ve been mastering for the last two years.”
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