Tencent Video, iQiyi in race to lead China’s online video market

The two platforms are already recognised as the most preferred combination of video streaming providers by mainland subscribers

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Video streaming site iQiYi reported 442 million active monthly mobile users as of August 17. Photo: Imaginechina

Published: 8:00pm, 2 Oct 2017Updated: 11:10am, 3 Oct 2017

Tencent Video and iQiyi are poised to further distance themselves from the competition this year as they intensify a two-way race to dominate mainland China’s red-hot online video market.

“It is coming down to these top two players, especially after Tencent Video doubled its paying subscribers in less than a year,” said Jefferies equity analyst Karen Chan.

The tight competition between Tencent Video, a unit of online gaming and social media powerhouse Tencent Holdings, and iQiyi, which is backed by Chinese internet search giant Baidu, means that more lucrative advertising revenue and paying subscribers will likely be cornered by the two Netflix-style platforms, as well as bolster their partnerships with film studios and other commercial content providers.

Chan pointed out that Tencent Video and iQiyi already provide the most preferred combination of online video platforms watched by mainland viewers.

Youku Tudou, the former online video market leader controlled by e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding, has remained firmly in third place behind those two platforms, she said.

Other popular video streaming players on the mainland include Sohu Video, Mango TV, Bilibili and Funsion.

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