Welcome to iQIYI’s bi-weekly news round-up! Here you’ll find the latest news and stories from the company, from entertainment, tech to business and from local to regional. If you are interested in learning more about iQIYI, please do not hesitate to reach out to press@qiyi.com .

(Jan. 31,2022-Feb. 18,2022) 

CONTENT

iQIYI Presents “The Oscars Theatre” Across Its Platforms

As the Oscars released the full list of nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards on Feb. 8, iQIYI presents the Oscars Theatre as viewers wait for the Awards Ceremony in late March to unveil this year’s winners. Receiving over 12 nominations, Dune, No Time to Die, Cruella, Luca, and Coming 2 America are all currently available on iQIYI. Encanto, another Disney animation film nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, will also stream on iQIYI in the weeks to come.

Films included in iQIYI's Oscars Theatre

In addition to including many of this year’s award contenders, iQIYI’s Oscars Theatre features a total of over 400 films that were either nominated for or won the Academy Awards, such as Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, Marriage Story, and Soul.

Gold Panning by iQIYI Lists in the International Panorama Section of Series Mania

Gold Panning, an iQIYI original drama series and part of the Light On series, is listed in the International Panorama Section of this year’s Series Mania held in Lille, the France-based international award dedicated to TV series. Receiving over 330 submissions, this year’s Series Mania listed 55 series from 21 countries and regions. Of the 12 shows listed in the International Panorama Section, Gold Panning is the only production from Asia. The listing also marks the first time a work from the Chinese mainland is listed for consideration of Series Mania awards.

A Poster of “Gold Panning”

“Gold Panning is a riveting, operatic drama that expertly drives the narrative and characters arcs while depicting a specific sense of location and of a not-so-distant past. The stunning cinematography cloaks molten gold into dark shadows. We are beyond excited to screen such formal beauty on a cinema screen, for our International Panorama jury and our audience," said Frédéric Lavigne, Artistic Director of Series Mania.

The award ceremony will be held on Mar. 25, where the professional jury will award the Best Series Award and Special Jury Prize, and the student’s jury will award its own Best Series Award. The audience will also vote to determine the recipient of the Audience Award.

Who is the Murderer from iQIYI’s Light On Series Airs on Overseas TV Channels

In collaboration with CNTV Korea, iQIYI is set to officially introduce Who is the Murderer, an installment in the Light On series, in South Korea in March. In addition, a local Japanese distributor has also purchased the streaming rights of the show, which is scheduled to air in Japan this year. In addition to the latest developments, the series also aired in mainstream TV channels in Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries.

A Poster of “Who is the Murderer”

The show tells the story of three protagonists solving a murder mystery that resurfaces 17 years after it first took place. The show was hugely popular when it aired on iQIYI platforms, reaching 8,763 in iQIYI content popularity index, the highest score recorded amongst Light On shows.

iQIYI Reports Spring Festival 2022 Viewing Trends

iQIYI Research Center reveals in this week that iQIYI has become the preferred streaming platform on which hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers find entertainment, with users from across generations all enjoying the diverse range of content iQIYI offers. The data indicates that streaming on platforms like iQIYI are becoming an increasingly popular way for Chinese people to perform the time-honored tradition that marks the CNY. The data also shows that more and more viewers are choosing to stream content on their smart TV. iQIYI's smart TV application, QIYIGUO TV, saw users' average daily viewing time reaching nearly three hours and extending to six hours during peak hours.

iQIYI's rich content library also means that the platform successfully serves a large viewer base with a diverse range of preferences while managing to bridge the perceived gap in tastes between generations. For instance, realistic drama series A Lifelong Journey, which hit 8,777 in iQIYI’s content popularity index, topped the ranking in the drama category. The show's popularity stands in contrast to the conventional sentiment that young people are disinterested in realistic dramas, as data shows that 46.8% of A Lifelong Journey's audience are under 30.

iQIYI Introduces Multiple Titles during Chinese New Year

l  On Feb. 12, Fly, Skating Star premiered exclusively on iQIYI platforms. The online film tells the story of speedskaters and is the first Beijing Winter Olympics-inspired film in China.

l  On Feb. 7, iQIYI premiered Vacation of Love 2, a romantic comedy series that tells the story of three sisters arriving in their hometown in Northeast China to celebrate Chinese New Year. A series of incidents took place on their journey back home, creating plenty of hilarious and heartfelt moments. iQIYI created Vacation of Love as part of its IP universe, and Vacation of Love 2 continues to realistically depict day-to-day family lives while getting the viewers in a festive mood.

l  Debuting on Jan. 28, A Lifelong Journey is a realistic drama series that depicts the half-century epic journey of Chinese people pursuing happiness through hard work.

A Poster of "A Lifelong Journey"

l  iQIYI also expanded its online film library by debuting Reunion Dinner on Jan. 27, a film co-produced by iQIYI and Clover Films, a leading Singapore-based documentary production house. Taking place during the Chinese New Year, Reunion Dinner tells the story of two families who gather for a reunion dinner to discuss the marriage of their children.

l  On Feb. 3, iQIYI released its first production from its Laugh On series, The Theatre Stories, which tells the amusing stories a group of young people in theatre with very different personalities. The Laugh On series offers young users a wide selection of interactive comedy content and, in addition to the Light On and Sweet On series, marks another genre-specific content series launched by iQIYI.

The Season Finale of iQIYI Variety Show Action! Airs

On Feb. 3, iQIYI aired the season finale of Action!, an original variety show that draws inspiration from the filmmaking ecosystem in China and aims to empower young filmmakers. After three rounds of competition spanning 128 days, six young directors produced 19 high-quality original short films.

A Poster of “Action!”

SHA Mo won the Best Young Director award, and YI Xiaoxing received the award for Director Delivering the Highest Commercial Value. HU Guohan's Have We Met Before was awarded the Most Popular Short Film of the Season. Going forward, to further encourage the development of China’s film industry, iQIYI will work with director SHA Mo to produce arthouse films.

iQIYI Partners with WildBrain to Create Original China IP Jonny Jetboy

On Jan. 25, iQIYI announced its partnership with WildBrain, a global leader in kids’ and family entertainment, to produce Jonny Jetboy, an original animation series from Keith Chapman, creator of animation classics including PAW Patrol and Bob the Builder. The project brings together two leading players in the kids’ entertainment industry, leveraging the two companies’ considerable capabilities across production, distribution, and consumer products.

Xiaoxuan Yang, iQIYI’s Vice President, stated: “Previously, iQIYI and WildBrain mainly collaborated over content acquisition. As for Jonny Jetboy, it marks a collaboration from the creative stage for both parties. Together with first-class teams from both international and domestic, as well as WildBrain's strength in international distribution and licensing in global market, this is a key step for iQIYI in building an internationally recognized IP.”

TECHNOLOGY

iQIYI Launches In-Vehicle App for FAW-VOLKSWAGEN

On Jan. 28, iQIYI announced that its first customized in-vehicle app for cars is available for download on the app store of FAW-Volkswagen's ID. family electric vehicles (EVs), transforming automobiles into a private movie theatre.

The customized iQIYI in-vehicle app allows users to quickly find their favorite content. Powered by natural language processing technologies, the in-vehicle app allows users to use voice commands to search and stream iQIYI content. It also allows users to enjoy their iQIYI membership benefits across devices, creating a holistic viewing experience that extends from a user’s home to their vehicle.

iQIYI App on FAW-Volkswagen's Car

HUANG Shuangxi, Senior Director of iQIYI，and General Manager of Smart Home and IoV（Internet of Vehicles） Business, said: "We work with our partners to enhance the user experience of in-vehicle infotainment apps by optimizing product customization and modifications, and content presentation. iQIYI will continue to build an IoV-based entertainment ecosystem driven by technology, content and marketing, and further develop the in-car mobile theatre."

Currently, iQIYI manages to meet the diverse needs of car manufacturers by providing standardized as well as highly customized apps. It has collaborated with more than 30 car companies—such as Li Auto, Ford, Nissan, Hongqi, and NIO—on IoV.

iQIYI Produces Test Films via Virtual Production

Leveraging Digital Assets in Content Strategy, iQIYI announced on Jan. 27 that it has completed the production of two 4K test films in the company’s self-built virtual production studio. The productions used scenes from the communities of Buliangjing, the fictional location where the mystery in iQIYI’s hit drama Luoyang starts. The test films also mark a major step in iQIYI’s realizing its vision of incorporating digital assets in the production of its series, films, animations, games, VR, commercial licensing, and other businesses, which enhances content quality, lowers production cost, and improves efficiency, as the company adopts a diversified monetization strategy and promotes the industrialization of the film and TV industry.

A Still from “Wind Blows from Buliangjing”

The two films, with Wind Blows from Buliangjing featuring real actors and Xin Nian featuring iQIYI’s virtual idols as characters, marked the first time that 4K film- and television-level virtual production was done in China. The productions signaled a technological breakthrough in the industry as they have created an all-encompassing process of digital assets application, an important step to help iQIYI realize its goal of building a "virtual film and TV city." Repeated applications of these digital assets will help greatly reduce the marginal cost of set production. Data shows that the application of digital assets into TV and film industry can save around 30% of the production cost.

BUSINESS

iQIYI Celebrates Valentine's Day with New Content and Streaming Preference Survey

For this Valentine's Day, iQIYI released a slate of new content for its members to enjoy with their significant others. New content to be released around the day include a new romance period drama Oh My Lord to be exclusively debut on iQIYI's global platforms, and the online premiere of the movie Embrace Again.

In the lead-up to Valentine's Day, iQIYI also released the findings from its romance-focused streaming preference survey, revealing behavioral trends of individuals using streaming services across four markets in China and Southeast Asia. The survey reveals that viewing behaviors have changed significantly in today's age with diversified channels and contents, and people view streaming decisions as key and influential factors in their relationships. 71% of respondents in the survey agree that watching shows together on streaming platforms is a significant part of dating, and 65% indicated their dating life or relationship has been impacted by COVID. iQIYI also found that Chinese language content has become increasingly popular outside of China, with a whopping 81% of respondents across the four markets saying they enjoy spending quality time with their partners by streaming shows together with the top choice being Chinese-language films and shows.

iQIYI Launches Elderly “Care Mode” 

In January, iQIYI launched the Care Mode on its mobile platforms on iOS and Android phones to improve the user experience of the elderly. The Care Mode leverages a large font size to facilitate easy reading, and it retains the most frequently used functions such as Search and Play History. With simplified navigation, it also allows easy access to quality video content in just one click. The Care Mode also allows users to use voice command to perform a search on the platform.