KEY TAKEAWAYS
- iQiYi: China’s own Netflix?
- VPN: Watching Netflix in China?
- Content and Cultural differences
Netflix is now the dominant video software and is the number one choice for the vast majority of people to watch videos. According to Statista (2023, from 2013-2023, Netflix’s subscription has been growing steadily. But in China, Netflix is not the mainstream video platform. And it can even be said that a few platforms in China are strong competitors of Netflix.
iQiYi: China’s own Netflix?
There are three major online video streaming platforms in China, iQiYi, Youku and Tencent, which are dominated by Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent Group respectively (Xu and Liu, 2023). iQiYi even has the title of Chinese version of Netflix, as it had topped the list in 2022 with 168 million unique visits. (Thomala, 2023)
Audiences have a chance watch original Chinese TV dramas and films, as well as excellent episodes from abroad on iQiYi. According to Thomala (2023),
“Netflix saw the influence of iQiYi in China in 2017 and reached a friendly cooperation with this platform.”
The content of popular and excellent series on Netflix was licensed to iQiYi and introduced into China market. For example, the original Netflix series “Stranger Things” and “Black Mirror” are signed with licensed shown in iQiYi.
VPN: Watching Netflix in China?
The most important reason for Netflix’s low subscription numbers in China is that people don’t have access to download the Netflix app and subscribe to its content. If you want to watch Netflix episodes, you have to use a VPN to download them over the wall first.
Plus there is an additional charge for subscribing to a VPN, which requires a monthly fee with a Netflix subscription.
- So are Chinese audiences willing to pay extra money to watch Netflix original content? The answer is No.
However, iQiYi and Tencent, as China’s larger video platforms, have their own membership subscription fees as well which are cheaper than Netflix.According to the news from GMA in 2023, Tencent’s membership fee is 30 RMB per month (3.5 pounds), and iQiYi’s monthly membership fee is 19 RMB (2 pounds). Therefore audiences in China are less likely to spend extra money to watch Netflix episodes. So I took a wild guess if Netflix is popular in China, Chinese audiences will not choose Netflix when consider about the membership.
Content and Cultural differences
In addition, Netflix has carefully selected the content of the programmes to be broadcast as close to the local culture as possible. According to Netflix’s help centre, if Netflix is not available in the language of the registrant, it will conditionally reduce the number of episodes that can be seen in the region. This is mainly to cater to the cultural and ethnic characteristics of the region.
On account of China has strict regulations on broadcasting video content on television.According to Xu and Liu (2023), the conditions of access in China, especially the dissemination of cultural content, the level of regulation, and the transparency of firms entering the country, are very strict.
In other words, Netflix needs to fulfil a number of conditions to enter China. Sun (2022) has mentioned that the broadcaster will censor all series that are not in line with its values and will block some pornographic content or LGBT series. For example, if ‘Shameless’ were to be broadcast on Chinese platforms, the sex scenes in the episodes would be censored. This is because, according to China’s content censorship standards for new and broadcast media content distribution
“content producers and service platforms should resist the production and distribution of undesirable information, such as content involving sexual innuendo and violence.”
Shi & Lai， 2021
So in the end, I would like to say that I really hope that Netflix can be released in China. But with China’s three major video sites and strict broadcasting conditions, this will be a difficult task.
Recommended Readings
Chinese Streaming Services: What Is The Chinese Equivalent Of Netflix? – Marketing China. (2023).
Binns. R., (2023), Websites banned in China, The Independent.
Statista. (2018). Top 10 Chinese video sites 2018, Statista.
Shi, J. and Lai, Y. (2021). In brief: media law and regulation in China. Lexology.
Sun, Z. and Hou, W. (2022). An Analysis of the Characteristics and Trends of China’s Mainstream Media Integration. Studies in Social Science & Humanities, 1(5), pp.58–63.
Xu,Richard and Liu. H (2023). Chinese TV in the Netflix Era. Anthem Press.