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 .

(Feb. 21, 2022-Mar. 4, 2022) 

CONTENT

Finale of iQIYI’s Hit Drama A Lifelong Journey Airs

On March 1, the finale of iQIYI’s hit drama A Lifelong Journey aired online exclusively on iQIYI platforms. Drawing inspiration from real life, the show resonated with viewers from across demographics and became the first iQIYI show to receive wide popular acclaim in 2022.

A poster of “The Life Long Journey”

As the show’s finale aired, the popularity of The Life Long Journey reached new heights according to viewing data from iQIYI platforms and TV channels. The show’s iQIYI content popularity index broke 10,000, making it the third iQIYI show—after Story of Yanxi Palace and My Heroic Husband—to achieve this level of popularity. Viewers of the show also generated over 17 million bullet comments. According to data from CSM Media Research, the total viewership of The Life Long Journey reached 371 million.

Korean Drama Pretty Sister Who Buys Me Food Airs Online Exclusively on iQIYI

On Mar. 3, classic Korean drama Pretty Sister Who Buys Me Food started to air online exclusively on iQIYI, allowing iQIYI VIP subscribers to enjoy all episodes at once.

A poster of “Pretty Sister Who Buys Me Food”

Starring renowned Korean actress Son Ye-jin and actor Jung Hae-in, the show was directed by Ahn Pan-seok, who won critical acclaim for A Wife's Credentials and Secret Affair. With its focus on a couple with age gap, the show documents the heart-warming details of falling in love, while revealing the clash between traditional and modern ideas on romance and marriage amongst the young generation today. Pretty Sister Who Buys Me Food first aired in Korea in 2018 and gained immediate popularity amongst viewers and fans. The show won the Excellence Award at the Seoul International Drama Awards and Best Drama Series at the Asian Television Award.

Feature Film Project from Young Director Winning Award at iQIYI’s Action! Kicks Off

After winning the Best Young Director Award in the iQIYI variety show Action!, young director SHA Mo will start to work on the script for a feature film, which he will produce in partnership with iQIYI. Directed by Sha, the feature film is based on Unspoken Love, a short film Sha directed during the second round competition of Action!.

SHA Mo

The short film Unspoken Love tells the story of a couple with speech and hearing impairments trying to help their daughter, who is also speech- and hearing-impaired, to speak. The story showcases the strong love that bonds between the protagonists.
 
Action! 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.

TECHNOLOGY

iQIYI’s DRM-S Completes Cartesian’s Farncombe Security Audit®
 
iQIYI announced on Mar.4 that DRM-S, iQIYI’s software Digital Rights Management solution, has successfully completed a security review by Cartesian, an independent expert specialized in content security-related issues for the digital entertainment and media industries. The iQIYI DRM-S is a scalable, flexible, and secure solution that protects the security of the content being streamed on iQIYI platforms on iOS and Android mobile devices.

Cartesian’s Farncombe Security Audit® is an independent, industry-recognized methodology for reviewing the security of content protection technologies and end-to-end video platforms. For over 20 years, Cartesian has been performing security reviews that meet the rigorous standards of the major Hollywood studios.
 
iQIYI has been developing its own digital copyright protection technologies since 2013. The company makes continuous and industry-leading breakthroughs in software DRM solution, encryption and decryption, digital watermark technology and other fields, and it has established a comprehensive copyright protection system that effectively protects content copyrights – ensuring the security of the source video, user-end protection, and piracy tracking. As the technology can easily be integrated with iQIYI's existing content system, it helps reduce cost and improve efficiency. iQIYI's DRM system passed the ChinaDRM Lab security assessment in 2018, and iQIYI’s Android app passed a security assessment by Dutch security lab Riscure in 2019.

iQIYI Releases Qiyu Dream Premium Version

On Feb. 22, iQIYI announced the release of its new all-in-one VR headset, the Qiyu Dream Premium Version, with the pre-ordering beginning on the same day. Priced at RMB 2,699 yuan, the new Premium Version has an upgraded memory capacity and allows access to more free content as compared to Qiyu Dream launched at the end of last year.

Users trailing the QIYU Dream Premium Version

The new Premium Version is a consumer VR product designed for the mass market. The product provides users with 20 popular games that are free to play as well as a Qiyu VR Annual Membership Card for films, dramas and more, meeting the customers’ entertainment needs for both video content and games. The free games users have access to include popular VR titles and genres designed for music fans, fitness fanatics, and families with young children. Driven by iQIYI’s strategy to produce premium content, Qiyu VR has formed partnerships with over 100 top game development companies in China and abroad, introducing three to five new games on a monthly basis for a rapid expansion of its game library.

BUSINESS

iQIYI Reports 2021 Q4 and Full-Year Earnings
 
On March 1, iQIYI reported its 2021 Q4 and full-year earnings results. Throughout 2021, iQIYI has improved operating and cost efficiency while maintaining industry-leading position. In fiscal year 2021, total revenues were RMB30.6 billion (US$4.8 billion), representing a 3% increase from 2020. Non-GAAP operating loss was RMB3.0 billion (US$474.9 million) and non-GAAP operating loss margin was 10%, the lowest point in the past three years, compared to non-GAAP operating loss of RMB4.5 billion and non-GAAP operating loss margin of 15% in 2020.

 
"We would like our shareholders to recognize that iQIYI is leading the opening of a new chapter in the Chinese long-form video industry. Starting from the fourth quarter of 2021, we launched a series of initiatives to optimize our cost and improve our organizational alignment. The results have been very encouraging. We significantly improved our operating and cost efficiency, while maintaining our industry-leading position in terms of various user metrics." commented Mr. Yu Gong, Founder, Director, and Chief Executive Officer of iQIYI. "Our goal is to reach non-GAAP operating break-even for the full year of 2022 and to reach quarterly non-GAAP operating break-even as early as possible, while maintaining our competitive advantage as the industry leader. I am delighted to see that we are moving in the right direction."

iQIYI Announces Private Placement Financing of US$285 Million
 
iQIYI announced on Mar.4 that the Company has entered into subscription agreements with Baidu and a consortium of financial investors that include Oasis Management Company Ltd., who have agreed to subscribe for and purchase from the Company, through a private placement, a total of 164,705,882 newly issued Class B ordinary shares and 304,705,880 newly issued Class A ordinary shares of the Company, for a total purchase price of US$285 million in cash. Baidu will subscribe for Class B ordinary shares, and the financial investors will subscribe for Class A ordinary shares. The private placement is subject to customary closing conditions and the closing is expected to take place in the near future.

"We would like to thank all our shareholders for their generous support and strong faith in the future outlook of the Chinese long-form video industry. We are committed to our operating strategy that centers around improving our business operating efficiency and generating shareholder values." commented Mr. Yu Gong, Founder, Director, and Chief Executive Officer of iQIYI.