Domestic online drama "go out to sea" for the first time Netflix buys the overseas distribution right of Youku's "White Night pursuit"

Netflix bought Youku's "White Night Pursuit" overseas distribution rights for the first time.

On November 30, at the 5th China Network Audiovisual Conference held in Chengdu, Yang Weidong, rotating president of Alibaba Culture Entertainment Group and president of Youku Business Group, revealed in his keynote speech that the overseas distribution right of Youku's self-made drama "White Night Pursuit" has been bought by Netflix. In the future,"White Night Pursuit" will be broadcast in more than 190 countries and regions around the world through Netflix, becoming the first domestic network series officially broadcast overseas on a large scale.

"In the past ten years, the two parallel lines of Digital and Content have been run through and accelerated integration. This integration has brought about a series of changes in audio-visual distribution methods and content innovation, and is also constantly pushing the audio-visual industry into a new round of upgrading." Yang Weidong pointed out in his speech that Alibaba's goal is not to be an entertainment platform in the traditional sense, but to "upgrade the infrastructure enabling industry" as the goal, giving full play to Alibaba's role in user reach, content industrialization, The Group's ability in the commercialization field promotes industrial upgrading.

Quality content helps, Youku enters accelerated development period

November 29, Yien net announced "China pan-entertainment index", in the annual network drama value list Top10, Youku with "white night pursuit of evil","spring breeze ten miles inferior to you","town soul street","tremble bar!" Abe and Hot Blood Chang 'an occupied five seats. More data show that Youku's third-quarter broadcast accounted for more than half of the total market for solo dramas. At the same time, Alibaba's second-quarter earnings report for fiscal year 2018 also showed that Youku's daily paying users grew by more than 180% year-on-year.

In the past year's integration, Youku, as the core section of Alibaba Entertainment, quickly occupied users 'minds through super series and innovative variety content strategy in the field of big video. In April this year, Yang Weidong broke the limitation of media and put forward the concept of "super series" for the first time, taking influential IP, charismatic creator and film-level production as the measurement standard of super series, aiming to improve the requirements for content quality and continuously output high-quality content for users.

Netflix's purchase of "White Night Pursuit" is the epitome of Youku's super series strategy and business development in the fast lane over the past six months. As soon as the play was launched, word of mouth exploded, Douban scored more than 9.0, ending with more than 4 billion broadcasts. In fact, since the launch of "Sima Yi's Military Division Alliance" in June, Youku has successively launched "Soul Street,""Spring Breeze Ten Miles Less Than You,""White Night Pursuit,""General in the Top" and other super series. While harvesting high reputation and high broadcast volume, with the influence of these high-quality works, super series have also become the new normal of the whole drama industry from Youku's "new content species".

Yang Weidong believes that breaking the barriers brought by the media, the review standards of future episodes will tend to be unified. Based on this, according to different target users, scheduling media and business models, Yang Weidong further divides the series into prime series, super series and network series. Among them, super series and network series will have more innovations and attempts in theme types and business models, and the future season drama mode in China will also be explored through these two types of series.

On the basis of the new classification of the series, Youku has previously released a number of blockbuster episodes that will be released in 2018. Including Tang Wei's work "Imperial Concubine of Ming Dynasty" returned to the small screen after many years;"Chang 'an Twelve Hours" starring Lei Jiayin and Yi Shou Qian Xi and adapted from Ma Boyong's novels;"Imperial Industry,""Yanshi Fan,""Jiuzhou Ethereal Record,""Tomb Robbing Notes? Restart? Dozens of super IP dramas such as "Extreme Sea Listening to Thunder,""Tibetan Code,""Xixia Death Book," etc.; as well as "White Night Pursuit 2,""Military Division Alliance 2,""Ultimate Class 5" and other blockbuster sequels.

On the other hand, represented by the phenomenon-level work Mars Intelligence Bureau, which opens up the new pattern of network synthesis, Youku has been insisting on innovation and exploration of network synthesis in the past two years. This year, Youku launched the first new mode of "cute baby + cute pet", which is both interesting and positive energy.

"Netcom has got rid of the simple imitation and dependence on TV variety shows and become an important engine for industry innovation." Yang Weidong said, And with the audit standards tend to be unified, The future network comprehensive need in the new audio-visual, New story, New knowledge three dimensions of innovation,"To give the audience a new audio-visual aesthetic, New narrative way and New knowledge information, Only possible to win public praise and flow." In the upcoming 2018, Youku will focus on the innovation standard of "three new together" and launch "this!" one after another. That's it, this! There are many innovative variety shows such as Iron Armor, Saturday Night Live (Chinese version), Time Difference of Love, Birth of King Yan, etc.

From audience to user, upgrading of network audio-visual industry

"In the process of upgrading audio-visual industry, the most core changes are three, from audience to user, from production and purchase to symbiosis, from monomer to ecology." Yang Weidong pointed out that content must be the core of audio-visual industry. In the face of media convergence and industrial upgrading, series and variety shows, as the two most important pillars of video content, also need to be adjusted and upgraded.

In the TV media period and the early development of the video industry,"audience" is the key word of the industry, which is determined by a single advertising monetization mode. At that time, the relationship between the content party and the platform party is maintained by a single content procurement project, and the cooperation relationship between the two parties is basically ended after the procurement is completed. With the diversification of business models, industry keywords have changed from "audience" to "user". Business models, including content marketing production, data marketing, member payment, derivative development, etc., revolve around user portraits.

"Today, both the content side and the platform side have entered the stage of selecting long-term partners. In the era of user-centered content, the common long-distance thinking of both sides is the premise for making big content." Yang Weidong pointed out that the platform and the content party have also changed from production and purchase relationship to symbiotic relationship. Both parties began to establish relationship at the content preparation stage. The deep interaction of preparation, planning, production, broadcasting, publicity, commercialization and serialization of the whole industry chain determines that the content party and the platform party must establish long-term and deep cooperation relationship.

At the same time, he stressed that in the second half of the big video, single-handedly fighting has been unable to cope with the changes and demands of the market, only the upstream and downstream of the industry will be mutually connected, linked, extended growth, group operations, in order to accumulate their own advantages and competitiveness in the whole link. Take the hit series "White Night Pursuit" as an example, under the premise of excellent quality of the series, Youku uses the resources of Alibaba Entertainment and Ali E-commerce system to publicize and distribute, which promotes the expansion of the influence of the series. Another blockbuster series released by Youku Autumn this year, Chang 'an 12:00, will fully open up IP ecological chains such as dramas, movies, games, music, advertising and derivatives.

Technology is also an important driver of digital and content convergence. In the past year, Youku has made a series of experience improvements and product upgrades to the user platform by utilizing Alibaba's technology accumulation: the application of comprehensive cloud and narrowband HD technology enables users to have a smoother and high-definition viewing experience; in addition, personalized distribution around user portraits and user interactions and Youku Planet meet users 'personality needs at different levels such as content and star interaction.

"The combination of digital and content is driving the audiovisual industry into a new era. This is an era of media convergence, an era of content development, and an era of new technologies driving content consumption upgrades."Yang Weidong once again stressed in his speech that the goal of Alibaba Entertainment is not to be a traditional entertainment platform, but to" upgrade the infrastructure enabling industry "as the goal, to play Alibaba's ability in the fields of user reach, content industrialization and commercialization, and to promote industrial upgrading.

Editor: Mary