Movie production, distribution and profit models are changing
The film and television industry "touches the net" out of acceleration (online China)
Our reporter Li Jiabao
During the epidemic prevention period, the film and television industry, which once encountered the "low spring cold", is bursting with new vitality in the "cloud". Experts pointed out that with the normalization of epidemic prevention and control and the gradual resumption of offline theaters, Internet giants have increased their deployment in the film and television industry. "Internet + film and television" will further promote the development and progress of all links in the film and television industry chain.
Internet companies enter film and television
Recently, the People's Government of Chedun Town, Songjiang District, Shanghai reached a cooperation agreement with Tencent, which aims to empower the film and television industry through high-tech means and accelerate the industrialization and intelligent upgrading of Shanghai’s film and television industry, which has attracted attention from the industry.
It is not uncommon for Internet companies to enter the film and television industry. In recent years, many Internet giants have relied on their accumulated advantages in the number of users and online broadcast channels to drive the film and television industry to "reach the Internet." Since the beginning of this year, the sudden new crown pneumonia epidemic has brought greater impact and challenges to the traditional film and television industry, and "Internet + film and television" has ushered in new development opportunities.
Statistics show that online video consumption grew rapidly in the first quarter of this year. In February alone, netizens used online videos on a single device for nearly 80 times a month, an increase of 23.2 times over the same period in 2019. The average daily usage time exceeded 2 hours, an increase of 21.2 minutes year-on-year. After March, the frequency and length of online video usage continued to increase. In addition, 415 online movies were launched in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 22% year-on-year; there are also many cinema movies premiered on online platforms.
Industry insiders pointed out that Internet companies are generally well-funded, and broadcast platforms are not limited by the scale of traditional channels, and are relatively less affected by the outside world. Internet companies' "cross-border" film and television industry can expand at low cost to a certain extent, lengthen the industry chain, and increase user stickiness.
Since the beginning of this year, many short video platforms have accelerated their deployment in the "long video" field. During the Spring Festival, a Chinese New Year movie premiered online on platforms such as Douyin, Watermelon Video, and Toutiao. In March, Douyin Culture (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. was established. The production and distribution of films and TV programs is one of the company's main businesses. Affiliated companies of the short video platform "Kaishou" have also recently added a number of trademark information including "Kaishou Pictures".
Help users discover good movies
After about half a year of silence, the film industry has ushered in a long-awaited recovery. Since July 20th, theaters across the country have resumed operations in an orderly manner. At present, some Internet companies use product and technological innovation as their starting point to actively empower the traditional film and television industry.
Recently, Alibaba Pictures’ “Tao Piao Piao” platform recently launched the “Quick Watch” function, which brings together short videos of “commentary movies” produced by many content producers. The platform uses algorithms to perform user portraits and accurately push content to help users quickly discover good movies. "You can't stop watching videos at all!" A user left such a comment. IQiyi simultaneously releases new movie theaters on the network platform, users can pay to watch, and through various technical means to achieve high standards of audio-visual protection, so that users can get a cinema-like viewing experience at home.
Experts pointed out that Internet companies have powerful capabilities and resources in social networking, search, and big data. Through the combination of big data technology and film and television projects, it is possible to know the psychological needs, emotional colors and values of consumers in the early stages of investment, helping film and television companies grasp business trends and accurately divide the market. In the future, the Internet marketing model will replace the traditional film distribution model and change the single channel that relies solely on offline theater box office revenue.
"The Internet has entered the traditional film industry. It has been innovating and constantly trial and error, which has sparked the boring traditional movies." Wang Zhonglei, co-founder and CEO of Huayi Brothers, believes that since 2012, "Internet + movies" has appeared. Conceptually, the Internet and movies have been greatly integrated and developed today. The Internet has indeed brought a lot of convenience to the development of movies, changing the production, distribution and profitability of traditional movies, and also changing the consumption habits of audiences and the business model of theaters.
Quality content is always fundamental
Maoyan data shows that from July 20 to August 18, the cumulative box office of national movies exceeded RMB 900 million, with 29.16 million movie-viewing visitors. Experts believe that the box office performance of theaters after the resumption of work and the high audience enthusiasm for watching movies are good for the industry, indicating that the Chinese film market will pick up in advance.
"During the epidemic prevention period, the government's tax reductions, subsidies and other policies have provided great support to film and television companies. This is very important. At present, the foundation and conditions for the long-term improvement of the entire film industry have not changed. We are actively deepening reforms and optimizing the industry. The pace of the environment has not changed." Gao Li, senior vice president of Tencent Pictures, expressed the hope that by building AI, 5G, and cloud computing infrastructure, Tencent’s long-accumulated technological advantages can be applied to the film and television industry to achieve effective technological endowment. Yes, so that the efficiency of film and television production has been qualitatively improved.
According to Li Jie, president of Alibaba Pictures, after the film market recovers in the second half of this year, publicity and distribution methods based on online live broadcasts and short videos will become mainstream and standard.
There are also views that the entry of the Internet will inevitably bring challenges to the traditional film and television industry. In this regard, industry analysts pointed out that during the epidemic prevention period, online video has become an important platform for many people to watch movies. After the epidemic, cinema movies should further strengthen cooperation with Internet platforms to realize the split distribution of "online + offline", and meet the viewing needs of different groups of people according to the type of movie. Although it is difficult to completely replace the offline viewing mode, the online consumption mode can be used as an effective supplement and become an increment. Regardless of the rapid development of "Internet + film and television", high-quality content has always been the foundation and conscience of the film and television industry.