Headlines from China: China’s Netflix Brings Streaming Services to Hotels in Thailand

China’s Netflix Brings Streaming Services to Hotels in Thailand

On February 3, leading Chinese video company iQiyi launched streaming services in select hotels across Thailand. Hotel guests can now access iQiyi 4K Blu-ray video content by simply scanning a QR code through the iQiyi APP. The new service targeting Chinese travelers is made possible through iQiyi’s partnership with Thai telecommunications operator AIS and China Unicom Global Limited (“CUG”). “Our new partnership with AIS and CUG to bring HD streaming to Thai hotels is a game changer for the millions of Chinese tourists who visit Thailand on holiday each year,” said Liu Wenfeng, Chief Technology Officer at iQiyi. “Our partnership with AIS and CUG represents an unprecedented step forward for iQiyi’s services overseas in terms of user experience, copyright protection, and network costs.” Read more on tech.gmw.cn

Top 5 Trends in China’s Online Streaming Sector in 2018

Here are top five trends that conclude what happened in 2018 and indicate what may happen in 2019 in China’s online streaming sector: 1. online video platforms start to produce more stars than traditional mediums, such as TV and theatrical films. Some of today’s most popular Chinese stars rose to fame in 2018 through variety shows, web movies and drama serious produced by online video companies, such as iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video; 2. it’s more and more common for premium content to premiere on streaming platforms then be broadcasted on TV; 3. branded entertainment is becoming a trend, which is enabled by a wide variety of entertainment content produced by streaming platforms as well as AI technology; 4. platforms spend more efforts in engaging with core fans of each show in order to eventually spread the word about a show to a broader audience. In addition, all platforms strive to engage with young audiences; 5. platforms are becoming better at developing, marketing and monetizing IPs through diverse and integrated approaches. Read more on entgroup.cn

Maoyan Makes Weak IPO Debut in Hong Kong 

Maoyan Entertainment, China’s biggest movie ticketing platform, launched IPO on the Hong Kong stock exchange today. It opened at HK$14.82 (US$1.889) per share, which is 0.14% higher than its initial offering price of HK$14.8 (US$1.8864), then dropped by 5.14% to HK$14.04 (US$1.78). According to a report from iResearch Consulting Group, Maoyan has a 60% market share in China’s movie ticketing sector with 134.6 million monthly active users in the first nine months of 2018. However, the report also shows that Maoyan was not profitable during the reporting period with a loss of 141 million yuan ($20.9 million). It might not be the best time for Maoyan to go public right now, but its tight cash flow and its shareholders’ needs to boost their own stock prices might have brought Maoyan to the stock market. Read more on 36kr