2018 China SVOD Consumer Deep Dive

The 20,000 Foot View:  The global subscription video on demand (SVOD) market is dominated in subscriber terms by the US and China, with both markets accounting for the majority of global users. However, beyond sharing scale the customer bases of the two SVOD markets have little in common. The Chinese subscriber base is both younger and less family orientated than in the US, with much of the payment and consumption being done by younger consumers away from the family TV set. China’s status as an emerging market also helps to explain the increased adoption of SVOD, powered by accelerated rates of smart phone engagement. Underpinning all of this is the regulatory protection that Chinese SVOD services receive, enabling them to scale the market more rapidly.

Key Findings

• iQiYi is            best performing Chinese SVOD service                       of its weekly active users            paying subscribers
           of Chinese SVOD users are            years old
• Only            of            SVOD users are aged           
• Chinese 20–24            olds have the highest SVOD            at           
• At            penetration,            TV shows and movies on            is more popular than watching            mobile           
           of Chinese consumers watch TV shows and movies on game consoles            of Chinese consumers binge watch
• Streaming piracy            TV and film content, at            is more widespread than SVOD                      
           of Chinese households have a traditional pay-TV subscription            of Chinese households cancelled a traditional pay-TV subscription in the prior three months

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: iQiYi, Kugou, Netflix, QQ, Sohu Video, Tencent, Tencent Video, WeChat Weibo, Whatsapp, YouTube, Youkou Tudou