" THE PIRACY ISSUE IN CHINA IS SOLVED" CHARLES ZHANG (FOUNDER OF SOHU)
15 OCTOBER 2014
Charles Zhang, founder, chairman of the board and CEO of internet giant Sohu.com, which he launched 18 years ago. Today, he was interviewed at MIPCOM by Marcel Fenez, global leader, entertainment and media at PwC, to pick his brains on digital China and its potential.
He started by talking about online video in China. “We serve about three billion video views a day. What we are experiencing really is a revolution in the last five years. Basically the bandwidth was ready for video, and then we waged two wars on piracy… the first is in 2009 and the second is in 2013, and they basically laid the legal framework for a legal business.”
He talked about the government’s crackdown on piracy in 2009, which laid a foundation for basic PC, browser-based video viewing, with domestic TV shows first to feel the benefit, then overseas shows that were bought in by Chinese companies. Zhang then talked about the second anti-piracy coalition in 2013, with a major public awareness campaign as well as government action. “Basically now we have wiped out the more controversial, sophisticated way of piracy,” he said. “Miraculously, the piracy issue in China that has been for so many years a problem, is solved. And now we have blue sky… I wouldn’t say we are 100% clear, but probably 95%.”
Zhang talked about the state of the legal online video market, noting that the traditional state-owned television channels aren’t very competitive, and there is no cable TV industry in China or pay-TV model. This opened the way for Sohu.com and other firms to innovate. “We had a lot of things to do to basically replace TV stations, to provide the basic viewing of TV dramas and all kinds of programmes. So that’s what we did.”
Now, Sohu.com’s content is 80% domestic and 20% international, with the former starting with TV dramas. “There was a movement about eight or ten years ago for separation of the production and the broadcast in TV stations. There are more and more studios, related to the TV stations, became standalone. And there were new studios… So now you have many many contents produced by this market-driven content. So you see the quality.”
Zhang talked about younger people, who are watching shows on websites rather than on television. He noted that in 2014, a few TV shows have become so popular in China, but are never shown on television. “Content made for internet is enough, it can become a phenomenon,” he said, noting that a number of companies have started making shows for online viewing only.
China is a fascinating market for media and entertainment, but one of the toughest for Western firms to operate in successfully.
Source:MIPCOM BLOG
He started by talking about online video in China. “We serve about three billion video views a day. What we are experiencing really is a revolution in the last five years. Basically the bandwidth was ready for video, and then we waged two wars on piracy… the first is in 2009 and the second is in 2013, and they basically laid the legal framework for a legal business.”
He talked about the government’s crackdown on piracy in 2009, which laid a foundation for basic PC, browser-based video viewing, with domestic TV shows first to feel the benefit, then overseas shows that were bought in by Chinese companies. Zhang then talked about the second anti-piracy coalition in 2013, with a major public awareness campaign as well as government action. “Basically now we have wiped out the more controversial, sophisticated way of piracy,” he said. “Miraculously, the piracy issue in China that has been for so many years a problem, is solved. And now we have blue sky… I wouldn’t say we are 100% clear, but probably 95%.”
Zhang talked about the state of the legal online video market, noting that the traditional state-owned television channels aren’t very competitive, and there is no cable TV industry in China or pay-TV model. This opened the way for Sohu.com and other firms to innovate. “We had a lot of things to do to basically replace TV stations, to provide the basic viewing of TV dramas and all kinds of programmes. So that’s what we did.”
Now, Sohu.com’s content is 80% domestic and 20% international, with the former starting with TV dramas. “There was a movement about eight or ten years ago for separation of the production and the broadcast in TV stations. There are more and more studios, related to the TV stations, became standalone. And there were new studios… So now you have many many contents produced by this market-driven content. So you see the quality.”
Zhang talked about younger people, who are watching shows on websites rather than on television. He noted that in 2014, a few TV shows have become so popular in China, but are never shown on television. “Content made for internet is enough, it can become a phenomenon,” he said, noting that a number of companies have started making shows for online viewing only.
China is a fascinating market for media and entertainment, but one of the toughest for Western firms to operate in successfully.
Source:MIPCOM BLOG