Chinese streaming platform iQIYI has announced plans to invest up to ¥10 billion (US$1.47 billion) on premium video content for the coming year.
Wang Xiaohui, chief content officer, iQIYI, said the video streaming giant is set to launch 192 key projects, including dramas, variety shows, animation and films in the next year.
iQIYI also revealed that it had purchased 1,600 shows in 2016 – double that of last year. In addition, the video-on-demand (VOD) company has produced and presented over 60 dramas and variety shows this year, compared to just 12 self-produced shows in 2015.
As of September, just over one billion mobile devices were in use, according to iResearch. Of them, 470 million devices had installed the iQIYI online video app, 330 million had downloaded Tencent Video and 310 million have downloaded Youku’s app. The top three apps account for more than 70% of China’s mobile video sector, said iQIYI.
Viewers in China watched a total of 16.7 billion hours of online video via mobile devices in September. In a breakdown, 5.46 billion hours were spent on iQIYI, 3.5 billion hours with Youku, 2.8 billion with Tencent Video and 1.2 billion hours on LeEco’s video arm, said iResearch.
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