Abstract
This chapter examines the growth and influence of over-the-top (OTT) media within China's unique economic and legal context. It examines the business models, revenue sources, and revolutionary shift in content consumption and creation patterns brought about by major platforms like iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku. The regulatory practices in China are highlighted, along with the potential and difficulties that they provide to the OTT scene. Questions concerning media pluralism, content quality, and algorithmic recommendation systems are highlighted as the authors look at the broader societal ramifications, including the effect on cultural trends, celebrity culture, and the film and television industry.
TopIntroduction
Media delivered through the internet rather than through conventional means of distribution like cable or satellite TV is known as “over-the-top” (OTT) media (Hutchins, Li, & Rowe, 2019). These services provide users with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, and live broadcasts that can be accessed on-demand, allowing for a more individualized and adaptable viewing experience (Abreu et al., 2017).
The importance of OTT media in China is huge. With its rapidly digitizing population and advanced technological infrastructure, the country has taken the digital world by storm in the past decade. There will reportedly be more than 989 million internet users in China by 2024, a sizable proportion of whom would be avid consumers of digital material (Junzhi, 2021). As a result of this shift, OTT platforms have amassed hundreds of millions of users and solidified their position inside China's digital entertainment ecosystem (Craig & Cunningham, 2019).
OTT media has revolutionized Chinese media consumption by granting viewers greater control over what, when, and how they consume media. There is a wide range of viewing habits that can be accommodated by OTT services, from watching a movie on a smartphone during a commute to binge watching a series at home (Tsai, 2023). The rise of OTT media coincides with a general trend toward more nuanced and sophisticated programming. Some original Chinese productions on iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku have received critical praise on a global scale (Lin, 2022).
The development of OTT media in China also has far-reaching effects on the media system as a whole in the country. These mediums have altered the mechanics of content creation, advertising, and even cultural transmission, redefining what it means to be entertained (Evens & Donders, 2018). Therefore, knowing the history and significance of OTT media is crucial to comprehending the present and future of China's digital culture and economy.
The primary goal of this chapter is to provide readers an in-depth look at how and why OTT media has taken off in China. The study's overarching goal is to learn how OTT media, as shown by giants like iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku, has altered the content industry as a whole. The chapter aims to illuminate the distinctive business strategies and revenue streams that these platforms have developed to succeed in China's economic and regulatory context. In addition, this chapter intends to investigate how the rise of OTT media has affected cultural movements, celebrity culture, and the Chinese cinema and television business.
The chapter is organized to comprehensively address these many concerns of OTT media in China. It starts with a brief background on OTT media in the country, placing its rapid expansion in the context of broader trends in the Chinese internet industry. This lays the groundwork for further investigation into the business structures and income streams that have contributed to the success of OTT platforms.
In the pursuit of a comprehensive understanding of the rise of the OTT media in China and its consequent societal impacts, the methodology employed is critical to elucidating the findings presented in this chapter. This research adopted a qualitative content analysis and a review of secondary sources, including industry reports, academic journals, and regulatory publications. Initially, the study conducted an extensive literature review to establish a theoretical framework and identify gaps within the existing body of knowledge. Subsequently, a content analysis was performed on a curated selection of OTT platforms to discern prevalent themes and narratives. This multi-layered approach ensured a robust analysis of the OTT media landscape, enabling the synthesis of a broad spectrum of data into coherent findings that reveal the depth and nuances of China’s digital media evolution.
The chapter then continues on to an examination of the effects of OTT media on the creation and consumption of content. This section examines the ways in which audiences interact with OTT content, including the rise of binge-watching, the ability to customize content on these platforms, and the production of successful new shows and movies.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Services: Digital media service offerings directly to viewers via the Internet, bypassing traditional platforms such as broadcast, cable, or satellite television providers.
Virtual Gifts: Digital items that can be purchased and given to content creators on streaming and social media platforms as a form of monetary support or appreciation.
Algorithmic Recommendation Systems: Tools used by OTT platforms that analyze user data and behaviors to provide personalized content suggestions, aiming to enhance user experience and increase content consumption.
Streaming: The continuous transmission of audio or video files from a server to a client, allowing users to consume content without downloading it entirely first.
Media Pluralism: The degree to which there is diversity in media content and viewpoints available to the public. It relates to the existence of a multiplicity of independent and autonomous media outlets.
Content Monetization: The methods and strategies used by content creators and distributors to generate revenue from their content. This includes subscription fees, advertising, and pay-per-view or transactional video on demand.
Binge-watching: The practice of watching multiple episodes of a television series or other content in rapid succession, a behavior facilitated by OTT platforms that offer on-demand access to complete series.
Digital Disruption: The changes that occur when new digital technologies and business models affect the value proposition of existing goods and services. In the context of OTT media, this refers to how digital streaming services have disrupted traditional television and movie distribution models.
Content Curation: The process of gathering, organizing, and presenting digital content based on thematic and quality criteria. For OTT platforms, this involves selecting movies, TV shows, and other content types that align with their audience's preferences.
Echo Chamber: A situation in which information, ideas, or beliefs are amplified or reinforced by transmission and repetition inside an “enclosed” system, where different or competing views are censored, not presented, or underrepresented.