Searching for better content
TV dramas made in Hong Kong have enjoyed a large audience in the mainland since the 1980s. Police or costume dramas are the most popular, but you can also see stories about lawyers or doctors or some powerful family suffering economic ups and downs.
TVB - the entertainment conglomerate consisting of multiple TV channels and production studios, and the place that gave birth to such stars as Andy Lau and Chow Yun-fat - is the main source of all the Hong Kong TV dramas. Its programs permeate the culture so deeply that even people who are not fans and don't understand Cantonese end up knowing a few lines from TVB dialogues.
"As a human, the most important thing is to be happy" is often quoted to comfort friends. "Why not have some sweet soup?" is spoken after a couple has a fight. And of course there is, "Sir, I didn't kill anyone."
Such lines perfectly reflect Hong Kong people's optimistic personality and are loved by fans.
Now, there's good news for Hong Kong drama lovers. For the next two years starting in April, there will be over 2,000 hours of TVB dramas available per year on youku.com and tudou.com, some new and some classic. War and Beauty 3 continues the drama of women in the empire palace. On Call 36 Hours 2, Lives of Omission and A Great Way to Care 2 are familiar names for fans.
Opening markets
As a leading player in Chinese language television, TVB produces over 17,000 hours of TV shows every year. Its worldwide television service covers North America, Australia, Europe and Southeast Asia. However, its service does not yet cover the mainland. Last year, TVB, culture investment foundation CMC and Shanghai Media Group jointly created TVBC, aiming to bring TVB's business to the mainland and help export mainland productions overseas.
The mainland market is tempting. Now, Tudou and Youku have a potential audience of around 440 million Web users, and bringing the most current shows to them will open up more doors for TVB.
Jin Zhongbo, CEO of TVBC, told the Global Times that this strategic cooperation is their first step, and the collaboration would not be limited to managing copyrights. The future will also include advertising and talent promoting. TVB has gained access to data of audience viewing habits and feedback on Youku and Tudou.
According Jin, series content will be adjusted to incorporate more stories that target the mainland audience as well as co-productions with mainland producers. This relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland is becoming a hot topic as culture conflicts create headlines.
Jin said the popularity of Inbound Troubles, which tells of a mainlander coming to Hong Kong to meet his cousin, is the kind of story that can attract attention from both sides.
At the same time, mainland production companies are also searching for opportunities to export their culture products. Legend of Zhenhuan is an example of one mainland hit that also performed well in Hong Kong and Taiwan. TVB's worldwide distribution channels could be an opportunity for the mainland production to go abroad.
Finding your niche
With available shows like House of Cards, Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and The Good Wife, tv.sohu.com is turning American television series into its specialty. And with its relatively younger audience, iqiyi.com has the advantage in cartoons and animations. So it appears as if TVB dramas will be the signature product for Youku Tudou.
"It is a good sign that video sites are no longer fighting purely over who has the greatest purchasing power. But it's still too early to talk about market positioning," said Zhu Xiangyang, vice president of Youku Tudou Inc.
For Zhu, everyone in the field is still searching for the most efficient and suitable way to develop.
For its part, Youku Tudou Inc signed a five-year licensing deal with Sony Pictures Television last year. It is also holding hands with many powerhouses in the film industry, including DreamWorks, Paramount and 20th Century Fox.
Tudou.com, with its slogan that "everyone is the director of life," was originally like YouTube, famous for its original content. After Youku and Tudou merged last August, they benefited largely from their comprehensive content and careful approach to differentiating themselves from competitors.
"Differentiation in the market is a long-term strategy and cannot be defined by any single deal," said Zhu.
Making original content
Online distributors are no longer satisfied with second-hand content. Sohu.com has produced Diors Man, a Chinese male version of Knallerfrauen, and letv.com entered the production business long ago.
Recently, staff at Youku Tudou visited the TVB production center to learn how programs are made, but when talking about creating original programming, Zhu was discreet.
"Netflix produced House of Cards and set a good example. There are definitely things we are interested in and willing to learn, such as producing and being creative in the content, but it does not mean that these are our next steps," said Zhu.
He explained that there will be experimental and innovative actions in the future but how to compete with big-budget professional productions and profit from the advertising are still important questions.
One profitable move was to go mobile. MyTV, tvb.com's app for smartphones, now has over 1 million users in Hong Kong. This time, the cooperation will also include viewings through Youku Tudou's apps on iPads and smartphones.
The online market is an important platform for advertising and broadcasting. For Jin, following the multimedia trend and placing the emphasis on new media is a no-brainer, but his priorities are quite clear. "Content first, media form next. The coverage and influence are interactive, that's a healthy way to grow," Jin said.