大众传媒与媒介素养
课程已结束,不允许加入和购买

第1次开课

开始:2018-09-12

截止:2019-01-15

课程已进行至

18/18周

成绩预发布时间 2018-12-13

期末考试截止时间 2018-12-12 22:00

教学团队

北京外国语大学
副教授
北京外国语大学
北京外国语大学
副教授
助教
助教

课程特色

视频(34)
讨论(8)
PPT(16)
考试(9)
练习(1)
作业(2)

话题5-案例分析丨China's big streaming shift:Paying instead of pirating

By 管洁颖 老师 2018-10-22 1496次浏览

Read the excerpt of the following news story from CNN. Then answer some questions.

China's big streaming shift: Paying instead of pirating
by Sherisse Pham
January 24, 2018

Not so long ago, China was an oasis for pirated music and videos. CDs and DVDs were easily copied and sold for cheap at roadside markets. If you had a computer and an internet connection, top selling albums and Hollywood movies were widely available for free online.

That's changing. And as is the case with many tech trends in China, it's changing fast.

New technologies and a long-running crackdown on pirated content mean members of the country's growing, smartphone-wielding middle class are increasingly willing to pay to stream videos and music online.

"When you have to spend two-to-three hours digging up pirated content, users are willing to pay a [small] amount of money to get non-pirated content," said Karen Chan, an analyst with research firm Jefferies.

For the better paid inhabitants of Chinese cities, streaming content is pretty affordable.

Across major Chinese video platforms, the monthly fee is about 20 yuan ($3); streaming music is even cheaper, ranging from 8 to 15 yuan ($1-$2) per month. Compare that with a basic monthly Netflix subscription in the U.S. at $8, or a Spotify one at $10.

It became really easy to pay
The rapid spread of digital payment platforms like Tencent's WeChat Pay and Alibaba-affiliated Alipay has also played a role, according to Xue Yu, an analyst with research firm IDC.

The platforms created a market of young Chinese consumers comfortable with buying goods and services for a few yuan online, Xue said.

Amber Zhang, a 27-year-old office assistant in Beijing, told CNNMoney that WeChat Pay was one of the key reasons she started spending money on music and video subscriptions back in 2013.
"It became really easy to pay," she said.

The video market is dominated by Tencent Video and iQiyi, a subsidiary of internet company Baidu (BIDU). The country's top ecommerce company, Alibaba (BABA), is also a big player with its video streaming platform Youku.

Tencent also has a near stranglehold on the streaming music industry through its QQ Music, KuGou and Kuwo platforms.

"These services are good enough now, it's very convenient, you can download an app on your phone, you can stream all the videos or audio that you want," said Kevin Chang, a 28-year-old engineer who lives in Beijing.

China's big tech companies dominate
The competition for paying customers like Chang is intense.

Tencent has a virtual monopoly on the streaming of mainstream western music in China. It struck a deal with Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group for the exclusive rights to stream their music in China. Under the deals, Tencent also gets to decide which songs rivals get to stream.

The hope is that by holding the keys to such a vast catalog, Tencent will get more users to sign up for subscriptions on its various music platforms. At the moment, it has around 15 million subscribers. It sounds like a big number, but it's only about 2% of the company's total active user base.

Video streaming has had more success -- both Tencent Video and iQiyi report about 10% of their monthly active users pony up for subscriptions (about 40 million and 30 million users respectively).

Even the Chinese users who are watching videos or listening to music for free on established platforms, are no longer doing so illegally. They generate revenue for the tech companies by sitting through ads.

Although the ads bring in money, the margins from paying subscribers are much higher, according to Chan, the Jefferies analyst.

Premium content is the driving force for getting people to convert to subscriptions -- if you can only watch your favorite TV show with a VIP streaming account, for example, you are more likely to subscribe to such a service.

As a result, Chinese video platforms "have to compete quite fiercely" for content, IDC's Xue said.
Some of the most coveted shows come from U.S. companies, which remain largely shut out from offering content directly to Chinese consumers in the face of heavy government censorship and regulation. Instead, they're opting to go through the big local players.

iQiyi struck a deal with Netflix in April, giving its Chinese subscribers access to popular original series like "Black Mirror", "Stranger Things" and "Mindhunter." Tencent became the exclusive online partner for HBO in China back in 2014, giving its subscribers access to hits like "Game of Thrones" and "True Detective."

Domestic players are also developing original series for the local market. Tencent Video has had a string of successes producing dramas and variety shows in house, as has iQiyi.

And original series give Chinese streaming platforms an even stronger incentive to respect intellectual property laws because they can now make money from their own content by selling it overseas.

Youkou produced "Day and Night", a 32-episode detective series that became a runaway success, garnering some 4 billion views since its debut in August.

It became Youkou's first Chinese internet series to be distributed overseas when Netflix snapped up the exclusive worldwide distribution rights for the show in November.

(内容节选自: http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/24/technology/china-streaming-music-video/index.html)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Summarize the news in one paragraph.blush
2. Why have more and more Chinese begun to pay for stream videos and music?cheeky
3. How do Chinese video platforms make money?laugh
4. How do Chinese video platforms work with international companies like Netflix?wink
5. Do you agree with the arguments made in the story? Why or why not?cool

 

1 回复

  • Libretta 2018-10-24

    1.   Once a paradise for pirated content, China is now waking up to a brand-new stage where original, paid creations flourish. Digital payment platforms are becoming increasingly pervasive, nurturing the young generation in an environment convenient for streaming sales. In our country, streaming service providers riot in the market, rivaling to win the customers' attention. Video streaming platforms appear more successful — advertising and subscription fees contribute to their strong financial foundation. In their fierce competition, they corporate with foreign peers and produce original series.

    2.   The reason is three-fold. Apart from the affordable costs of streaming content, the extended time used for searching pirated content and the government’s crackdown on piracy explain the phenomena.

    3.   Money flows in from four channels. Video streaming platforms sell plenty of advertising spots to advertisers. They also categorize premium content as a privilege for paid VIP users. Moreover, they are planning original series and bringing their content into the global market.

    4.   In the paragraphs provided above, a Chinese enterprise would sign contracts with foreign platforms for the access to foreign series as the exclusive online partner and vice versa.

    5.   I would gladly agree with the aforementioned arguments, for the shift from pirating to paying definitely marks a breakthrough. The Chinese video streaming industry is on a tear. As the idea of purchasing online content takes root in our hearts, we have a reason to anticipate a boom in such online platforms. Despite our temporary lack of high-tech filming strategies, the past few years saw several high-quality original productions supported by a solid cultural and financial base, such as "Day and Night" from Youku. We can live to see a future where the Chinese voice is heard, and where our style is deemed as a trend.

    回复

添加回复