2 Behind the charge for screen projection ： Iqiyi's quarterly profit , Youku is in a hurry ？

source ： Sina science and technology （ID:techsina） author ： Xuyuanlei

The controversy of advance on demand is still yesterday , Now , The long video platform is offered again “ fancy ” New ways to generate income . In recent days, , Users found , Youku open VIP After membership interests , To use the screen projection service, you also need to open a cool meow member .

Youku launched VIP The act of charging for the second time of screen projection , Or to cooperate with many solo dramas and summer head variety 《 This is the street dance 5》 On line . In the context of reducing losses and seeking profits in the long video industry , Some experts say that Youku's practice is actually “ Helpless move ”, Just in the eyes of netizens ,“ It's too ugly ”.

Especially for Youku , No matter from the membership size 、 User stay time or content investment 、 From the perspective of production ability , Both have been abandoned by iqiyi and Tencent video of the first tier , And with the second tier B standing 、 Mango. TV The gap narrowed further . Now , Iqiyi has made a profit in the official quarter , Can Youku not be in a hurry ？

“ fancy ” Income generating tricks continue to netizens ：“ Eating is ugly. ”

Cool meow is a TV application under Youku . Sina Technology found , take VIP Member content can only be shown on the screen 6 minute , If you want to watch the whole movie , You need to put Youku VIP Upgrade to cool meow VIP. According to Youku APP Show , Upgrade to 6 Months of cool meow VIP The original cost is 150 element , namely 25 element / month ,88VIP Enjoy a discounted price 48 element , namely 8 element / month .

It is worth mentioning that , At present, the content of screen projection requires secondary charging , Only for Youku VIP Membership content , in other words , If it is content that non members can watch , There is no extra charge for screen projection .

according to 《 youku VIP Membership service agreement 》 Relevant provisions , youku VIP Member services can be provided on the mobile phone 、 Tablet side 、 Computer end use , Do not use on TV . Youku is 22 In the morning, he responded , If users need to watch on TV , It is recommended to buy or upgrade to a cool meow member , Enjoy TV rights .

According to the Red Star News , Youku members have to charge twice for screen projection , The regulatory authorities responded that , If the membership agreement does not include projection , That is, there is no infringement . But netizens don't think so , Feel Youku “ fleece the flock ”、“ It's too ugly ”.

A netizen joked that ：“ This is really a good way to generate income , It is suggested that Youku further increase the charging content , For example, open the software to charge , Watching videos is charged per minute , Video fast forward charges , Switching definition charge, etc .”

AI media consultation CEO Zhang Yi said ,“ Theoretically , It doesn't add too much cost to watch movies on screen , It also does not increase the relevant technical difficulty , So for the screen projection fee , Personally, I don't think it's reasonable .”

Youku launched the action of charging for screen projection , Or to cooperate with the launch of several independent dramas , So as to further generate revenue for the platform . According to Sina Technology Statistics , since 6 Since the end of the month , Youku is exclusively online 《 White strong man 2》、《 Happiness to all families 》、《 Out of court 》、《 The fragrance is like crumbs 》 Wait for multiple episodes .

Besides , youku S Class variety 《 This is the street dance 5》 It will also be launched in the summer , Guests include idol stars Wang Yibo and Liu Yuxin , The blessing of fan economy also provides enough confidence for Youku's charging move .

According to netizen feedback , at present , Except for some foreign copyright content , Iqiyi 、 tencent 、 Mango. TV and B The member content of the equal length video platform can be projected for free . In Zhang Yi's opinion , Users' aversion to charging for screen projection is still breaking out . He expects ,“ In the short term , Iqiyi, Tencent video and other video platforms will not imitate and follow up the practice of Youku screen charging , I dare not cross the thunder pool .”

This year, 4 month , To improve daily active users , Youku is in the new play 《 My name is Zhao Jiadi 》 China has also tried a new mode of sowing . On the basis of members' preemptive watching , Launch the activity of inviting friends for help to watch two more episodes first , Subsequently, it also caused netizens' dissatisfaction .

in fact , In the introduction of screen projection charges 1 Months ago , Youku aims at VIP The membership price has just been adjusted , This is also the first time in recent years that Youku is right VIP Member price adjustment . After the adjustment , youku VIP A month in a row 、 Bao Ji 、 The annual package price is 25 element 、68 element 、238 element , A month in a row 、 The price adjustment in the package season has increased by more than 50%, The price adjustment increase for consecutive years is 20%.

Zhang Yi pointed out that , Impacted by short videos , The current situation of the long video industry is very dangerous , At present, the content supply and investment funds are seriously insufficient , To some extent, it will also cause a vicious circle in the video industry . For video platforms , Charges for various items 、 Price increases are helpless .

Iqiyi official announced quarterly profits, and Youku was abandoned by the first tier

2021 year , Idol show 、 Danmei drama 、 Advance VOD has been stopped one after another . At present, the long video industry has bid farewell to extravagance 、 The era of the dispute between spirit and spirit , And is moving towards cost reduction and efficiency increase 、 The second half competition of reducing quantity and improving quality . And raise prices from members 、 It is not difficult to see a series of actions such as screen charging , Youku has a strong desire to survive in the era of industry stock .

As the main force of Alibaba entertainment , Youku once occupied the long video market after its merger with Tudou 80% Share . But now , Youku has quietly fallen behind , Iqiyi and Tencent video are not only behind the first tier , With the second tier B Station and mango TV The distance is further narrowed .

according to 《2021 Research Report on the development of online audiovisual in China 》 Show , By 2021 year 12 month , Iqiyi 、 tencent 、 Youku's monthly life is 5.0 Billion 、4.9 Billion 、1.7 Billion , Mango. TV And Bili Bili monthly life are 1.9 Billion 、1.8 Billion . Before the industry 5 In the big video platform , Youku has come to the tail of the crane .

From the perspective of paying members , Youku is “ Excellent love ” The only platform in China that does not regularly announce a specific number , But according to the data of Alibaba's financial report , In recent years, the growth rate of Youku's paying users has continued to slow down .2020 The fiscal year , The year-on-year growth rate of Youku's average daily paying users is 50%, here we are 2021 The growth rate in the fiscal year fell to 35%, In the first quarter of this year, it only increased year-on-year 14%.

Membership growth has entered a bottleneck , In fact, it is also an epitome of the long video industry . As the demographic dividend fades , Video platforms need to change from scale oriented to efficiency oriented , To improve ARPU value （ Average revenue per user ） As a new growth engine .

Long video users tend to follow the content , In the final analysis, the support of charges for various items is the supply of content . Only by continuously providing high-quality content , In order to keep users loyal to the fixed platform . But in terms of content investment and production capacity , The gap between Youku and other platforms is obviously not small .

According to cloud data ,2021 Broadcast on the whole network in TOP20 In the series , Tencent video has 14 Ministry , Unicast 8 Ministry ; Iqiyi has 12 Ministry , Unicast 6 Ministry ; Youku only 5 Ministry , And they are all collage . Variety aspects ,2021 Year Youku only 《 This is the street dance 4》 Enter the network integration to play effectively TOP20, The overall variety show is less effective than mango TV.

2019 year , Youku proposed “ Three wants and three don't ” Content strategy , namely “ Don't be extravagant, be efficient , No idols, actors , No flow, value ”. From this we can see that , Youku is more prudent in its investment in content , How to play well under this strategy “ Content war ”, It is still a problem that needs to be considered .

It is worth mentioning that , The first quarter of this year , Iqiyi announced its first quarterly profit , Member subscription income reaches 45 One hundred million yuan , Year-on-year growth 4%, Financial indicators based on non GAAP （Non-GAAP） The net profit of is 1.6 One hundred million yuan . Besides , Iqiyi also proposed in 2022 The whole year will be realized in Non-GAAP Performance outlook for operational profitability .

Alibaba's digital media and entertainment division, including Youku business , Adjusted in the first quarter of this year EBITA（ Profit before interest and tax ） The loss is 19.66 One hundred million yuan , The same period last year was 26.98 One hundred million yuan . Although the loss continues to narrow , But it seems that the dawn of profitability is still far away .2019-2022 The fiscal year , Alibaba digital media and entertainment division has been adjusted EBITA The amount of loss is 157.96 Billion 、114.46 Billion 、61.18 Eva 46.9 Billion .

stay 2021 At the network audio-visual conference in , Fan Luyuan, President of Youku, once said ,“ Long videos are hard now , When will the three of us make a profit ？ If we look at the current living environment , Just around the corner is wishful thinking , It's too hard .” Now on the way of reducing losses and seeking profits of long video , Gong Yu led iqiyi to a new turning point , And leave fan Luyuan and Youku time , Maybe there are not many .