China’s iQiyi Defies Takeover Gloom With 213-Title Summer Slate

Chinese streaming service iQiyi is uploading a huge slate of drama series, films and variety shows for summer. Many were teased as part of a 213-title splurge in May.

The drama series lineup includes new title “Dr. Tang,” “The Heart Of Genius,” “The Lord Of Losers” and “Love The Way You Are.”

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The list of variety shows includes “The Detectives’ Adventures” Season 2 and “The Rap of China 2022.” It is also adding animation “Deer Squad” Season 2 and film “Face’s Verb.”

Women’s themes are to the fore. “My Way” portrays the challenges faced by four young mothers, while “My Later Half Of Life” documents the stories of middle-aged women seeking a balance between their marriage, career and need for self-actualization.

The company says that it is benefiting from adoption of a dispersed studio model, that enables it to better stay on top of cultural trends. “With each studio having its particular focus and driving brand influence, it helps iQiyi improve operational efficiency and develop contents that cover a wide range of genres,” said Jiang Bin, VP.

It is also pressing ahead with technology that enables user interaction. “In the newly released ‘The Lord of Losers,’ iQiyi’s Interactive Video Guideline (IVG) allows users to personalize plot-setting,” the company said. It also uses a “Chat Together” feature, which enables users to partake in a joint viewing experience by sharing invitation links.

In its latest financial report, the company was able to announce a rare quarterly profit. But it has also been under pressure to cut staff and content costs. And anecdotal local reports suggest that the company is not pushing its international expansion plans as aggressively as in the past.

But the company has made no further comment on recent speculation that parent group Baidu is looking to sell its majority stake. It dismissed these as “market rumors.” At $4.62 per ADR at the Monday close, the company’s share price is currently fractionally below its $4.67 level before the share sale talk.

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