2B Station doesn't want to be “ Conscience version of aiyouteng ”

source ： Alphabet （ID：wujicaijing） author ： Yan Fei

But you can't shake fast , What do I do ？

Was once regarded as “ China Version YouTube” Of B standing , More and more like aiyouteng .

6 month 9 Sunday night ,B Station release 2021 Results for the first quarter of the fiscal year . Last quarter ,B Station revenue and users still maintain a double-digit percentage growth ; But taken together , This is not a satisfactory financial report .

first quarter ,B The station's revenue reached 50.5 RMB 100 million , Year-on-year growth 30%, Decline in chain ratio 12%. Because it is the off-season for business marketing promotion , Superimpose the game version number and suspend distribution 、3 Since June, the COVID-19 has been repeated and other adverse factors ,B It is not easy for the station to achieve this achievement .

however , comparison 2021 Throughout the year 62% The growth rate of revenue ,B Last quarter's revenue only increased 30%, The drop is not small . Especially the game and e-commerce businesses , The year-on-year growth rate in the last quarter has dropped to 20% following .

B Stand over 9 The revenue composition of the last quarter

On the other hand ,B The revenue cost of the station continues to rise , Year on year growth in the previous quarter 43% to 42.5 One hundred million yuan ; Among them, for UP Lord 、 The income sharing cost of the anchor is 21.5 One hundred million yuan , Year-on-year growth 53%; The cost growth rate obviously exceeds the revenue growth rate ,B The conversion efficiency of re investment content for growth has declined .

The result of the revenue losing out on the cost is , first quarter B The gross profit of the station decreased year on year 13.8%; Net loss increased year on year 153%; Exclude equity incentives 、 Amortization of intangible assets 、 Changes in fair value and other factors , The adjusted net loss increased year on year 85.4% to 16.5 One hundred million yuan .

After the earnings release ,B Stock prices in the United States have fallen sharply 14.78%, Report to 25.32 dollar . Comparison 129.24 The dollar 52 Week high ,B The stock price of the station has fallen nearly 80%.

But in the last quarter, there was a loss of more than a billion yuan , Not for B Station brings real crisis . By 3 End of month ,B Station holds cash 、 Cash equivalents 、 Time deposits and short-term investments 247 One hundred million yuan , Enough to support operations in the coming quarters . What's more? ,B It is listed on both US and Hong Kong stocks , Supported by Tencent and other giants , There are many financing methods and channels .

From the results of recent quarters ,B The real problem with the station is , It wants to learn how to shake fast , But I can't let go of aiyouteng's paid membership income , There is a certain degree of strategic swing .

One side ,B The station realized the impact of short video very early . In order to avoid being the real back wave —— Tiktok 、 Well quickly 、 Video numbers are eliminated , It is from 2020 Since, the construction of short video ecology in the station has been gradually strengthened , Promote the creator to produce short and vigorous 、 Native vertical video and live broadcast , They want to be the fourth force besides the three players .

On the other hand , The value-added service income with membership fee as the main body has become B Cash cow of the station . In order to continuously expand this income ,B The station continues to expand its investment in medium - and long-term video , Both include giving UP The Lord is more divided into , It also includes launching more self-made variety shows , Purchase more third-party copyright content, etc . This set of business practices oriented by expanding the user payment rate , And let the B Standing involuntarily close to aiyouteng's business path .

This kind of left-right fight , Is becoming B The maximum resistance to stand up and break through ： Get more paid members , prompt B Station plus the medium length horizontal version video that old users are used to , And continue to buy new resources , Enhance the attractiveness of members ; And the wave of short video is raging ,B It is impossible to ignore the station , We must allocate energy and resources to actively respond to .

Compared with short-term losses , How to get through long and short videos 、 The gap between horizontal and vertical videos , Thoroughly revitalize the content community and copyright library built with heavy money , Iterating the business model fundamentally , It's just B Standing on top of the next few quarters .

01

Support value-added services , Has always been a B standing 2018 The main line of development after going public in the United States in .

B The value-added services of the station mainly include large members 、 Live broadcast and other services , The annual fee is 168 The big member of yuan is the most important . Over the past few years , The revenue share of this business has steadily increased ;2020 In the fourth quarter of, it surpassed the game for the first time , Become B The most important source of revenue .

from 2020 From the fourth quarter of to 2022 First quarter ,B The revenue contribution rate of station value-added services is from 33% Rise to 41%, Stay at the top , And the growth rate is higher than that of the game . Last quarter , The year-on-year growth rate of this business is 37%, Than the game business 16% High 21 percentage .

B Other revenue sources of the station include advertising and e-commerce . These sectors are growing faster , But the current volume is relatively small , And not B The traditional advantage of the station , It is greatly influenced by the macroeconomic environment and the market competition pattern . Predictably, , The next few quarters , Value added services will continue to be B Stations “ big brother ”.

B How does the station's value-added service perform , The key is the change of member income .

First quarter of this year ,B Monthly active users of the station （MAU） reach 2.936 Billion , Year-on-year growth 31%; The average monthly paying users are 2720 ten thousand , Year-on-year growth 33%. The growth rate of the two is basically the same , It shows that the user payment rate is very stable .

B If the station wants to increase the scale of paying users , First of all, we should expand the base of ordinary users .B The station has made great efforts in the past two years 《 After wave 》、 New year's Eve party and other popular content try to break the circle , The purpose is to attract more people , Lay the foundation for paid conversion .

On the other hand , When membership fees are unlikely to rise significantly ,B If the station wants to increase its income , We must continue to improve from “ Whoring for nothing ” To pay conversion efficiency . This requires continuous provision of more high-quality content , Make recharge members more cost-effective .

B The content of the station is roughly divided into PUGV（ Professional video users ） and OGV（ Professional copyright video ） Two categories: . The former mainly depends on the creators in various fields , The latter needs to be made or purchased by the platform itself .

Last few quarters ,B The station has been trying to do the expansion of these two types of content . stay PUGV field , It divides the knowledge area , Support professional creators ; And in the OGV field ,B Stand up and make 《 New generation of rap 》 and 《 The sky of wind dog youth 》 After two big hits , A series of self-made variety shows have been launched one after another , such as 《90 Marriage agency 》《 What if you have some tricks 》《 All sounds 》 etc. , We have also purchased the copyright of the FA Cup and other events , To cater to the tastes of sports fans .

However ,B Although there are many movements of the standing combination fist , But the effect is not amazing . The Knowledge Zone gave birth to luoxiang 、 Infinitesimal brightness 、 Half Buddha immortal and other phenomena UP After the Lord , New players of the same magnitude have not yet run ; While the newly produced self-made variety shows are not well watched , But it is difficult to reproduce the grand occasion of the hot discussion on the whole network in those days .

Even more remarkable ,B Stations “ High quality content — Member income ” The efficiency of the transformation model shows signs of decline .

2021 Throughout the year ,B The station revenue sharing cost is 77 One hundred million yuan , Year-on-year growth 77%. Corresponding ,B The station's value-added service revenue is 69 One hundred million yuan , Year-on-year growth 80%, Slightly higher than cost growth .

But in the 2022 First quarter ,B The station revenue sharing cost is 21.5 One hundred million yuan , Year-on-year growth 53%; The revenue from value-added services in the same period is 20.5 One hundred million yuan , Year-on-year growth 37%, Lower than the cost growth rate 16 percentage .

in other words ,B Stand on the content every more input 1 Yuan , The revenue growth is less than 1 element .B The value-added services most valued by the station may face the risk of growth slowdown .

02

B The reason why the station sells members vigorously , The original intention is to break the excessive dependence on the game business .

2018 When listed in ,B Station overload 80% Revenue comes from the gaming business , Especially popular mobile games 《FGO》（《 fate ： Crown a specified 》）. This monotonous income structure has aroused widespread doubts , prompt B Stand and make a change .

Last few quarters ,B The proportion of station value-added services' revenue has been increasing , The game business gradually retreated to the second place . Last quarter ,B The revenue contribution rate of station Games has dropped to 27%. During the same reporting period , Games have brought... To Tencent 32% The income of the , And the revenue of Netease games accounts for as much as 73%. In this way ,B The station has been basically far away from the game dependence .

The old problem has just been solved , New problems soon arise .

The value-added services focusing on selling members are expanding , Give Way B The station is more and more like a pay wall video company , It is hard to avoid being compared with aiyouteng . And this is exactly B What you don't want to see .

Actually , In the business of paying members ,B The station is much better than the traditional video website .

From the perspective of commercialization potential , First quarter of this year ,B The monthly average paying user of the station is 2720 ten thousand people , Value added service revenue is 20.5 One hundred million yuan , Average contribution per person per month 25 Yuan income ; by comparison , Iqiyi's monthly average single member income is only 14.69 element , amount to B Standing around 60%.

And in terms of user experience ,B The eating appearance of the station is also significantly better than that of aiyouteng , Even if it's “ Whoring for nothing ” Users can also view most of the content for free , In particular, the proportion of playback volume 90% The above PUGC Content . On the three long video platforms , Free users can hardly move ; Even if you charge money , There are wonderful routines such as member ads waiting for you .

but B The embarrassment of standing is , It doesn't want to be “ Conscience version of aiyouteng ”.

One side , Long video has established its business for many years and achieved little , Plus the bad influence of leeco thunderstorm , Very unpopular with the capital market . Among the three platforms , Iqiyi, the only independent listed company, now shares less than 5 dollar , Less than market value 40 Billion dollars , Only in the heyday 1/10.

under these circumstances ,B Even if the station sells the members to fly , Nor can we escape from the valuation paradigm similar to aiyouteng . Last year ,B Station share price fluctuated and fell , from 120 Above the dollar fell to 30 Below US dollar , The market value is only 100 Around $100 million . Of course, there are some factors in this cold winter , but B The lack of excitement in the station itself is also an important reason .

On the other hand , Video websites want to live by charging membership fees , It has been proved to be an extraordinarily hard thing .

not long ago , Iqiyi released its first quarter financial report , Quarterly profit for the first time in 12 years , It caused a stir in public opinion . But go into it , Iqiyi not only experienced large layoffs that affected the whole company in the last quarter , It also reduces the cost of content 19%, It was not easy to squeeze out a few hundred million yuan of profits ,“ First profit ” Poor quality .

in fact ,B The station also faces the problem of long-term loss , The shift of revenue focus from games to value-added services has not helped .

First quarter of this year ,B The operating loss of the station is 19.9 One hundred million yuan , Compared to the expanding 93%; At the same time , Revenue growth only 30%. Under Pressure , This year, 4、5 month ,B The station has been repeatedly reported to be laid off , Involving the master station 、 live broadcast 、 game 、 E-commerce and other departments .

In the fourth quarter of last year's earnings conference call with analysts ,B standing CFO Fan Xin predicted , The company will reduce costs and increase efficiency ,2022 The annual realized loss narrowed , Break even needs to wait 2024 year .

B Stand the pain point of not making money , In fact, it is not easier than aiyouteng . It's just , It holds “Z generation + Secondary yuan + Video ” Three trumps , Plus 《 After wave 》 And so on , Able to support the jobs style “ Reality distortion force field ”, And “ Market dream rate ” Get an excess valuation in the capital market .

But now , Capital markets are becoming calmer .

Last quarter ,B The year-on-year growth rate of station revenue is only 30%, And 2021 Year round 62%, And the fourth quarter of last year 51% It's a long way off . On the snowball in the stock market community , There are user comments B The station has moved from “ Growth ” Return to “ Value type ” Stocks .“ Market dream rate ” No longer persuasive ,B The station is returning to the world .

03

From the new actions of the past year ,B The station has realized the limitations of value-added services . Although still selling members , But it is also looking for some lower level changes .

The most remarkable change is ,B The station is trying to increase the proportion of short videos , So as to create more content increment and commercialization opportunities .

according to B standing CEO Chen Rui's statement , The platform had many vertical screen videos twoorthree years ago . Since last year ,B The station starts to test a named Story Mode（ Story mode ） Short video function of , Some users click APP The user's Avatar in the upper left corner , You can jump to the short video waterfall stream , Slide up and down to switch .

In the fourth quarter of last year's earnings conference call , Chen Rui repeatedly mentioned Story Mode, It is said that the daily active user penetration of this function has exceeded 20%, Users' likes account for 30%.

And in the first quarter earnings conference call last night , Chen Rui declared B The proportion of vertical screen video in the station has exceeded 20%, And showing a continuous upward trend . Besides ,“Story Mode The commercialization mode of is very mature , It performs well in advertising realization efficiency and live broadcast conversion rate .”

But that doesn't mean ,B The station should turn to short video . It wants to keep the core , Use the essence of buffeting to a limited extent .

“ A few years ago when we were doing live broadcast , Some users worry that we will become a live broadcast product , But that's not the case , The live broadcast is integrated into our PUGV in .Story Mode It's the same thing ,B The station will not become a short video product , But the short video will become B Part of the station ecology .” Chen Rui said .

Chen Rui thinks , Vertical screen short video provides incremental , Instead of cannibalizing existing traffic , Nor will it change the existing PUGV ecology . In his opinion ,Story Mode The playback increment may even exceed the present PUGV Play volume .

B There are many advantages of standing for short video . It has an active community of creators ,UP The Lord is used to making long videos , Now it's easier to make short videos , It can be described as a dimensionality reduction blow ; Besides ,B Standing around the bullet screen culture UP Primary and private domain traffic , It also provides natural soil for the cold start of short video content .

but B The station faces many challenges as well .

The biggest problem is , Shake up the layout for a long time , The user penetration rate in the domestic short video field is close to 100%, There is also a covetous eye between the two 、 A video Number backed by wechat . Most netizens don't go to B Stop to brush the mental and habitual path of short video , It is also very difficult for the creator of the root shaking head to change to a much smaller flow B standing .

Besides ,B Station is good at cultivating in the platform UP Lord , For example, Luo Xiang is famous here ; But for those who spend a lot of money to poach for big V, For example, once “ Douyu first sister ” Feng Timo ,B Station doesn't seem to be good at making full use of . It means B It is difficult for the station to quickly play a new sign of short video by throwing money at people .

But anyway , If you don't want to get bogged down in the tedious business of charging membership fees , The short video is B The station must fight a key battle . It will not only bring users and traffic , There are also opportunities to open up more realization opportunities under the scenario .

at present ,B Although there is a layout in the field of short video , But there is still a big gap compared with shaking , It is necessary to make up lessons in product form and operation methods . In value-added services 、 When the growth of old brand businesses such as games slows down , Short videos are carrying B The best hope for the station to continue its upward breakthrough .