(Image credit: Maoyan)
Chinese tech giant Tencent announced Thursday that it will integrate the services of its video streaming arm Tencent Video with online ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment to form a single comprehensive entertainment platform.
Why it matters: Tencent is becoming a digital powerhouse with holdings in every facet of entertainment from video and music streaming, movie production to online literature. Its business partnership with Maoyan allows Tencent to improve its user experience by integrating the ticketing platform.
- Alibaba is also building an entertainment ecosystem that involves video-streaming platform Youku, movie production company Alibaba Pictures, music-streaming site Xiami, and ticketing service Taopiaopiao, among others.
- Expanding into the broader entertainment industry is of strategic importance for Maoyan, especially at a time when China’s box office revenue is experiencing a downturn.
Details: With this partnership, Maoyan and Tencent Video will integrate their ecosystems by converging traffic, promoting a joint membership program, and sharing data.
- The two companies will design a joint membership program to launch promotional packages and boost collective membership benefits to offer more value.
- As the exclusive ticketing partner for Tencent Video, Maoyan’s ticketing platform will be embedded on the Tencent Video platform, creating an online and offline ticketing service.
- The two companies will integrate their quality content and platform and exchange traffic to reach more users.
- Data sharing will help the partners better promote entertainment content. Maoyan’s data platform will provide user research and related data support for Tencent Video’s self-produced content.
- The two companies will also explore opportunities to produce quality live performances and jointly develop related video programs.
“Maoyan is opening up its platform capabilities to its strategic shareholder Tencent and more partners, including Tencent Video and Tencent Pictures, to grow the entertainment market together and drive the industry development.”
—Maoyan CEO Zheng Zhihao
Context: Spun out from Tencent-backed Meituan in 2016, Maoyan Entertainment went public in Hong Kong earlier this year, raising about $250 million.
- Maoyan accounts for about 60% of China’s movie ticket market, according to data from the Chinese analytics company iResearch cited in the company’s IPO prospectus.
- Maoyan merged with Tencent-owned rival Weiying in 2017.
- The Maoyan and Tencent Video tie-up follows an alliance struck in July between the ticketing platform and Tencent Pictures, the company’s film distribution and production unit.
– This article originally appeared on TechNode.
