iQiyi viewers can soon stream women's tennis matches. (Photo : Internet Photo)
IQiyi, a leading online video and movie portal and subsidiary of Baidu, is planning to develop 500 dramas to be posted and viewed online by next year. The planned 67-percent increase in such online product is aligned with the company's goal of profiting from the expanding online video market in China.
Aside from IQiyi, the other two big competitors in the internet video market in China are Sohu Video and Youku Tudou. All three firms are planning to generate unique online drama series as well as other programs to capture more Chinese viewers and to snag shares in the the growing online video market.
With big investments already in its plan, IQiyi will also use 4K resolution technology and three-dimensional techniques to make the Chinese adaptation of House of Cards, a popular political drama in the United States.
"The average budget of Internet drama (for each minute) has surpassed investment of traditional TV series," said Gong Yu, chief executive of IQiyi.
In 2015, IQiyi will be creating 500 online dramas which total to 15,000 hours of video content. This year, the company has only created 300 online dramas totaling 6,800 hours of video. The Lost Tomb, a planned online drama show, is likely to cost about 5 million yuan ($820,000) per episode.
Along with more investments in online dramas and a collaboration with Huace Film & TV, an initial public offering (IPO) is highly likely, according to analysts.
The company is also planning to combine online video services with video games and electronic commerce, said Gong.
In the second quarter, IQiyi ranked second to Youku Tudou in advertising income, owning only 19 percent of the 4.1 billion yuan total industry earnings.
