Time for an interesting and informative article (if you can get past the all-too-trendy references to TV production as “television content creation”) in the most populous market for, well, everything, in the world today.
Hmm, after reading this we’re wondering when the call will go out for tariffs on Chinese TV…
Television content creation in China
by Hugh Harsono
Content creation has seen immense growth in recent years, with a shift in focus from mainstream content providers such as traditional television studious to internet-era startups either seeking to expand their portfolios or seeking to increase premium user memberships through exclusive content introduction.
In America, this scene has been predominately owned by Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, introducing critically acclaimed titles such as The Man in the High Castle, Orange Is the New Black and The Handmaid’s Tale, respectively, with many other industry giants scrambling to catch up (with Apple already signing a deal with Steven Spielberg to produce an Amazing Stories-reboot, Facebook spending as much as $1 billion on original content, Google announcing plans to potentially spend up to $3 million per drama episode and even Disney with their purported streaming service, among many others).
Similarly, in China’s growing television industry, a select few, namely Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, continue to dominate the marketplace in terms of original TV content production. However, the vast majority of Western consumers have never heard of these internet giants or their respective subsidiaries and series, although this is set to change very soon, particularly with Chinese content currently in the early stages of global distribution.
What distinguishes China from the rest of the Asian market?
There are a variety of unique factors that distinguish China from other marketplaces around the globe, as well as in Asia. These factors include but are not limited to things such as increasing use of mobile devices for media consumption, increasing numbers in television consumption and a booming film/television industry primed for explosive growth.
According to eMarketer, Chinese adults will spend nearly three hours a day using their mobile devices, representing 41.6 percent of their total daily media time, with this same population spending nearly 40 percent of their daily media time specifically watching television. This heavy emphasis on mobile device usage, combined with an expected jump in digital video time in the next several years, creates a perfect environment ripe for increased video consumption by China’s growing population….