Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui is the new sensation that has caught the Chinese online broadcasting scene by storm. (Photo : Twitter)
China's booming online broadcasting scene is bringing in not only fame but also a lot of fortune to its many newfound stars.
Chinese Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui is one of the latest additions to the country's ever-growing roster of popular Internet personalities. An hour-long broadcast featuring the 20-year old Fu on local video streaming website Ingkee attracted more than 11 million views to date, CNN reported. The turnout is one of the biggest for any athlete featured online.
Fu rose to Internet popularity after her unexpected reaction to winning the bronze medal at her event in the ongoing Rio Olympics.
However, more than the number of views, Fu's online broadcast has also reportedly generated a lot of revenues. Ingkee lets its subscribers purchase virtual "gifts" called wanghong to send to their favorite Internet stars. Some of these wanghong packages cost as much as much as $750, with the star getting a portion of the earnings.
It is not only the podcast celebrities who are cashing in on the online broadcasting boom. Companies are also in the rush to get a piece of the lucrative market. Chinese Internet giants Tencent and Alibaba, for instance, struck a 100 million yuan ($15 million) deal each with state broadcaster CCTV to stream the Olympics online.
On the other hand, other online streaming companies like Huajiao and Yizhibo have followed a similar path to that of Ingkee and signed several other current Olympians to star in their own online shows. The companies have also sent their own correspondents to cover the Games, the Global Times reported.
Ingkee itself isn't one to be left behind, as the company has collaborated with search engine Baidu to promote its shows. The site currently has more than 10 million users every day and was able to gather $12 million worth of new investments.
Fu, though, doesn't want to think of her broadcasts as a business. The swimmer even pleaded to her viewers not to send her the expensive virtual gifts, saying that she can't even use them in real life.
