More than 700 million people are projected to be watching online video content by 2015 in China, according to new McKinsey Research. In the last three years, the scale of China’s online video market has more than doubled each year, and the advertising income of this market reached RMB 2.1 billion (around $331.1 million) in the first quarter of 2012, up 218% year on year (Source: Xinhuanet & McKinsey Quarterly).
Since YouTube is blocked by China’s “Great Firewall,” a large number of national portals capture this opportunity, dominating the vibrant video ecosystem in China. Youku and Tudou — China’s two giant video portals — will be merging in an all-stock deal, consolidating the two companies’ leadership in the fragmented marketplace and giving the combined company powerful influence in setting prices for online advertising. The combined entity will control 49% of the Chinese online video market, with the next biggest being Xunlei at only 11.3% (Source: Ad Age Global & TechCrunch).
It’s undoubted that the growing online video market in China presents a huge opportunity for marketers and is becoming a crucial channel that targets a wide range of Chinese viewers. Multinational and national brands that wish to take full advantage of this opportunity should deepen their understanding of the demographics of Chinese online video viewers, the ecosystem of China’s online video market, as well as the potential marketing opportunities.
China’s online video market is witnessing a drastic increase in advertising avenues. As a matter of fact, Chinese video sites devote more space and time to advertising than their Western counterparts — 45 seconds of pre-roll ads are common. On some sites, ads flash on the screen when the video is paused, and one site even has advertising in the middle of videos. The first quarter of 2012 generated RMB 2.1 billion ($425 million) online video ad revenues, a 24.7% rise from the previous quarter, reported by Analysys International, a local research firm in China.
The easy access of Internet and diversified media platforms speed up the growth of China’s online video market. A recent study of Starcom Media Vest Group indicated that Chinese Internet users spend more of their time watching videos on their mobile devices and computers than on TV. As advertising in TV dramas is banned in China, online video advertising and marketing presents a big opportunity. Moreover, China has the largest number of mobile users, with 152 million users having access to 3G, and 247.7 million smartphone users, as indicated in “China Embraces the Era of Mobile Commerce.” The large base of mobile users provides a substantial pool of mobile video viewers.
China has a longstanding practice of censorship, which plays a double role in the progress of Chinese online video marketing. The censorship prevents the access to several popular foreign websites, including video-sharing site YouTube, which, on the flip side, enervates the competition from foreign portals and strengthens the development of domestic video service providers. Nevertheless, China’s broadcasting and Internet regulators require domestic online video providers to prescreen all programs before making them available, tightening state censorship of increasingly popular online drama series and mini-movies.
Chinese online video viewers are younger, more educated, and spend more time watching videos online. 50% users have an advanced diploma education, with an average monthly income over RMB 7000 ($1100), and 80% of users are under 30 years old. Additionally, 47.9% of Chinese video users spend four or more hours a day watching online video content, such as movies, television programs, and live sports — double the time spent by U.S. users, according to iResearch. Unlike YouTube, where much of the content is user-generated, a critical majority of Chinese video sites are extensive libraries of television programs and movies. Online video viewers show higher brand awareness, deeper product understanding and higher preference and intention to purchase. Hence, the evolving online video is becoming an efficient marketing strategy for brands to approach to Chinese millennials, especially after China ordered a ban on advertisements during TV dramas as part of its reform of cultural activities last year (Source: China Internet Watch).
The following is a list of China’s key online video portals:
Youku, known as China’s YouTube, is the biggest online video site in China. On March 12, 2012, it was announced that Youku reached a definitive agreement to acquire its rival Tudou in an all-stock deal worth over $1 billion, and the combined entity will be named Youku Tudou Inc., but will still remain separate brands. This new entity will establish a clear and dominant leadership position in China’s online video sector and become one of the largest Internet properties in China. Youku has partnered with over 1,500 license holders, including TV stations, distributors and film companies that regularly upload media content on the site.
Ku6 is another leading online video sharing site in China, focusing on User Generated Content (UGC). On May 2012, Ku6 entered into an agreement of partnering with the popular Chinese SNS website Kaixin001.com. Ku6 will assist Kaixin to add a brand new video sharing function by providing technology support to all video uploading activities on Kaixin. Users on Kaixin can enjoy a one-stop service that enables them to upload, store and share their videos without leaving the website.
PPS Net TV (PPStream), established in January 2006, is the world’s largest net television service provider. This service is available in diversified platforms, including iPad, iPhone and computer, providing video encyclopedias, video searches, online videos, synchronized TV programs, games, information, downloads, communities and other multivariate products and services.
56.com, with over 30 million registered users, is a Chinese video and media sharing site, which allows users to upload and share videos and photos with others.
Here is the version of this post in Chinese:
据麦肯锡研究报告指出，截止至2015年为止，中国将会有7亿人观看在线视频。近三年来，中国的在线视频市场以每年双倍的速度拓展，其广告收入以每年218%的速度激增，在2012年第一季度就高达21亿人民币（将近3.31亿美元）。（来源：Xinhuanet 和McKinsey Quarterly)
自从YouTube被中国的网络防火墙屏蔽后，很多中国的在线视频网站抓住此机遇大力完善中国的在线视频体系。优酷和土豆作为中国最大的视频网站将结盟加强双方在整个视频市场的占有率，并且共同定位在线视频广告的价格。这个结盟将会控制49%的中国在线视频市场，迅雷仅占据11.3%的成为中国第二大视频网站。（来源：Ad Age Global 和 TechCrunch)
毫无疑问，中国蓬勃发展的在线视频市场给营销者带来了无限商机，并且逐渐成为一个面向中国广大观众的重要工具。国际和中国品牌将会充分利用此机遇去深入了解中国在线视频观众，中国在线视频市场，以及潜在的市场机遇。
中国的在线视频市场的广告利润正迅速增长。实际上，中国的视频网站比西方的视频网站投放更多的空间和时间。中国的视频通常插播45秒的广告。在一些网站上，广告穿插在视频暂停的画面，有些广告甚至插入在视频播放中。据中国一个调研公司Analysys International指出，中国在线视频的广告利润在2012年头三个月就创下了21亿人民币（将近4.25亿美元），比前年增长了24.7%。
英特网的普及和日益多样化的媒体平台加速了中国在线视频市场的发展。Starcom Media Vest Group的一项近期调查报告指出，相比于观看电视而言，中国的互联网用户愿意花更多的时间在他们的手机设备和电脑上收看视频。由于中国已禁止全国各电视台在播出电视剧时中间插播广告，因此中国的在线视频成为了广大广告营销商新的商机。除此之外，据China Embraces the Era of Mobile Commerce介绍，中国拥有世界上最大的手机用户，1.52亿的3G用户和2.477亿的智能手机用户。这个庞大的手机用户成为潜在的移动视频观众。
中国长期实行的网络审查制度对中国在线视频市场的发展起到双重作用。这个网络审查制度屏蔽了很多国外流行的视频分享网站比如YouTube。从另一方面来说，这个屏蔽却削弱了外国视频网上在国内的普及，并加大了中国视频服务供应商在中国视频网站的占有率。然而，中国的广播及互联网监管部门已通知在线视频供应者所有节目必须在上线前预审，以此对日趋流行的在线电视剧及微电影加强国家审查力度。
中国的在线视频观众普遍比较年轻，受教育度更高，并愿意花更多的时间观看在线视频。据iResearch 报道，50%的用户接受过高等教育，并且每个月的收入超过7000人民币（1100美元），80%的用户是30岁以下。除此之外，47.9%的中国视频用户花将近或者超过4个小时的时间观看电影，电视节目和体育实况等在线视频。YouTube上大部分的视频是用户自创的。与YouTube不同的是，中国大部分的视频网站是电视节目和电影。（来源: China Internet Watch)
以下是中国主要的在线视频网站：
优酷被誉为是中国的YouTube，并且是中国最大的视频服务平台。2012年3月，优酷宣布以一项价值10亿美元100%换股的方式，收购土豆网。这个合并后的新公司命名为优酷土豆股份有限公司。这两个品牌仍然保持独立。这个新的结盟公司将会在中国在线视频市场占据极其重要的位置并且是中国最大的互联网公司之一。优酷目前已和电视台，经销商，电影公司等1500 个认证媒体方合作。
酷6是中国最大的在线视频分享网站，专注于用户生成内容模式（UCG)的发展。在2012年五月，酷6和中国流行的社交网站开心网合作。在酷6的协助下，开心网将增加全新视频共享功能，同时酷6网将可以想开心网分享视频。开心网的用户将可以享受一站式服务—能够便捷地上传、储存和共享他们的视频服务，而且还不需要离开网站。
PPS 网络电视是在2006年一月份成立的，并且是世界上最大的网络电视服务提供商。这个服务不仅支持iPad，iPhone和电脑等多个平台，并且提供视频百科书，视频搜索，在线视频，同步电视节目，游戏，信息，下载，社区和其他多样化的产品和服务。
56网是中国领先的视频网站，并拥有超过3000万注册用户。这个网站允许用户上传和分享视频或者图片。
