A record high of 700 million online hits were recorded for the first two episodes of a new TV drama entitled "The Legend of Mi Yue" after just 24 hours, according to a report by China Daily.
The 81-episode historical epic started airing on Beijing Television and Shanghai-based Dragon TV on Tuesday. It also streamed live on Tencent Video and LeTV at the same time.
According to Tencent Video, the first two episodes, as well as related material like previews and outtakes, attracted 360 million hits by the end of the first day.
LeTV recorded 340 million hits during the same time period.
A single user viewing the same content multiple times count as multiple hits.
"The Legend of Mi Yue" is based on an online novel. It tells the story of Mi Yue, a real historical figure who lived during the Warring States Period and was the first empress dowager in China.
The series is directed by Zheng Xiaolong, who also directed the successful "The Legend of Zhen Huan" in 2011.
Sun Li, the lead actress of the earlier series, plays the role of Mi Yue for this new drama.
Demand for online video is rapidly increasing in China. As of June, China had 460 million registered users, according to South China Morning Post. Among them, 354 million watch videos on their smartphones, while the remainder prefer using their PCs or televisions.
Despite the popularity of the medium, implementing paid online video viewing is still an uphill battle in China, according to an annual report by China Net-casting Service Association.
The report also said that advertisements are the top source of income for content providers, with only 17 percent of users paying for online content.