Taiwan-based ★ China's largest video streaming platform "iQIYI" launches site in Taiwan

Beijing iQIYI Technology, operator of China's largest video streaming site iQIYI, officially announced the launch of its Taiwanese (Traditional Chinese) version site in Taipei on March 29. This marks the company's first expansion outside mainland China. The news was reported by NNA, which distributes economic and business information across Asia.

iQIYI founder and CEO Gong Yu stated, "We began trial operations of the Taiwanese version on November 18 last year. Over these four months, we have distributed 125 theatrical productions, 80 variety shows, 2,000 foreign films, and 1,200 Asian films, gaining acceptance from many Taiwanese users."

Gong further commented that the company is focusing not only on streaming but also on in-house content production. He announced the launch of the original romantic drama "Rock Records in Love," featuring Taiwanese directors and actors, starting on the 29th.
Yang Ming, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Taiwan Station overseeing the company's Taiwan operations, stated, "Unlike competitors specializing in movie and TV drama streaming, iQIYI's strength lies in offering 11 content genres including plays, variety shows, animation, and entertainment news programs." iQiyi also aims to stream sports content popular in Taiwan, such as the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) Taiwan Open and the NFL (National Football League) Super Bowl.

For the time being, iQIYI will not establish its own Taiwanese base. Instead, Outei Entertainment, established in Taipei last October, will handle Taiwanese operations including traditional Chinese subtitling and customer service. Outei Entertainment Chairman Fan Lida explained to NNA, "If iQiyi were to establish a Taiwanese corporation, obtaining the necessary approvals would likely take a significant amount of time due to the specialized nature of its operations. That's why they entrusted the practical work to us." He denied any investment by iQiyi.

Chairman Fan also expressed interest in entering the Japanese market, stating, "Japan has robust infrastructure, such as starting 8K (ultra-high definition, 16 times HD) satellite broadcast experiments this year, making it an attractive market. We want to explore opportunities to enter."
iQIYI launched its service in China in 2010. It operates under China's largest search engine, Baidu, and is also backed by Beijing-based Xiaomi Technology, a major Chinese mobile device maker, as its second-largest shareholder. It boasts the highest daily viewership among Chinese video streaming sites, reaching 150 million cumulative users per day. Users under 35 years old account for 75% of its audience.

iQiyi CEO Gong (left) and Senior President Yang (right) = (Photo by NNA)