Japanese manga giant Shueisha moves hit titles behind paywalls, signalling the end of free online content for Chinese fans
- Digital content has been moving behind paywalls, fuelled by a rising middle class with money to spend as well as more government attention to IP rights
- Revenue generated from paying anime users grew from US$2.8 million in 2012 to an estimated 7 billion yuan in 2019
The days of Chinese manga and anime fans enjoying free online content have largely come to an end as publishers explore ways to monetise their Chinese fan base.
Japanese manga giant Shueisha has asked its Chinese partners – Tencent, Bilibili and iQiyi – to put six blockbuster franchises, including One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh!, behind paywalls starting next month, according to social media posts by the three Chinese companies.
According to a 2018 report by consultancy firm iResearch, revenue generated from paying anime users grew from 20 million yuan (US$2.8 million) in 2012 to an estimated 7 billion yuan in 2019, closing the gap with online ad revenue which amounted to 11 billion yuan last year.
Manga followed a similar trajectory, with paid users accounting for just under one third of total online manga revenue in 2018, according to iResearch, which has not published updated figures.
iResearch’s latest figures show that the number of online anime and manga consumers in China was 219 million last year.
While converting free users to paid users has been an ongoing trend, Shueisha’s decision to put its most popular and valuable ongoing franchise One Piece behind paywall signals the end of an era.