Legend of Miyue smashes online video viewing record in China with 700 million hits in 24 hours as country sees industry take off

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In the latest hit Chinese TV drama, Mi Yue (Sun Li), once a favourite of King Wu of Chu, sees her life fall into chaos upon the death of her father. After a period as a consort battling harem politics, she goes on to become China’s first empress dowager once her son is named king of the Qin dynasty. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:00pm, 3 Dec 2015Updated: 7:04pm, 3 Dec 2015

The first two episodes of a new Chinese drama and related content attracted a record 700 million hits in just 24 hours this week on two of the country’s most popular video streaming sites, highlighting the unfettered growth of China’s booming online video market.

The 81-episode historical epic The Legend of Miyue started airing on Dragon TV and Beijing Television on Tuesday. At the same time, it went live on Tencent Video and LeTV, two of China’s biggest video-streaming sites.

READ MORE: Alibaba rolls out Netflix-style TBO streaming video service in China

Tencent Video said on Wednesday that the two episodes and related content including previews and outtakes had attracted 360 million hits by the end of day one. Just over a quarter of this total, or 100 million hits, went directly to the two episodes.

Rival LeTV posted comparable viewing numbers of 340 million over the same period, but didn’t disclose how many of these the two shows made up.

Repeat viewings by the same internet user count as extra hits or clicks.

Based on a popular online novel, the series tells the story of Mi Yue, the first empress dowager in Chinese history. She lived during the turbulent Warring States Period (476-221 BC).

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