iQIYI Signs Licensing Agreement With Netflix For Popular Shows
BEIJING(28 Apr 2017)
China's largest internet and mobile video service provider iQIYI has reached a content licensing agreement with leading American video streaming company Netflix, which would give iQIYI the streaming rights in China to Netflix's popular dramas, cartoons, documentaries and reality shows.
The deal covers Netflix's premium shows such as sci-fi series Black Mirror and Stranger Things for simultaneous premier in China.
"Though our expectations of this deal remain modest, we are delighted that consumers will be able to enjoy these highly-popular series on iQIYI, the leading media platform in China," said Jessica Lee, VP, Communications - Asia, Netflix.
The partnership marks a new milestone for iQIYI as it strives to provide its subscribers with greater variety of high-quality shows from across the world.
The deal is also expected to help drive out pirated contents in the Chinese market by feeding local viewers with copyrighted contents of high definition.
"We commit ourselves to making more original contents and high-quality shows from around the world accessible to our viewers in China," said Yang Xianghua, senior vice-president of iQIYI.
"In teaming up with important content providers such as Netflix, iQIYI is capable of keeping abreast of latest trends and development in the industry around the globe."
Founded in Beijing in April 2010, iQIYI is the top online video platform in China to stream both licensed and original movies, television series, variety shows, cartoons and other content.
Last year, iQIYI became the first video streaming company from Asia that entered the top revenue ranking of global Apps, along with Netflix, HBO Now and Hulu, according to American mobile analytics specialist App Annie. iQIYI is in seventh place and Netflix came third worldwide in terms of revenue.
Latest statistics from Chinese internet research unit iResearch show that iQIYI's App is active on 474 million mobile devices during January of 2017 and users spend a total of 5.02 billion hours on it over the month. Meanwhile, iQIYI has also taken a leading position in paid subscription business, announcing the total number of its paid subscribers exceeding 20 million as of June, 2016.
About iQIYI
Founded in Beijing in April 2010, iQIYI is the top online video platform in China to stream both licensed and original movies, television series, variety shows, cartoons and other content.
About Netflix
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is the world's leading Internet television network with over 100 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.