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text/zhao xiaonao

long videos in 2024 are moving towards a "new cycle".

from the perspective of the industry, video platforms have returned from "land grabbing" to "intensive cultivation". this also means that the time has come to test "hard power". the competition among platforms is no longer about quantity, but about quality and reputation.

according to the "2024h1 drama market insight report" released by lighthouse professional edition, there were 149 effective dramas broadcast in the first half of 2024, 12 fewer than the same period last year, but the cumulative broadcast volume of feature films increased by 35.1%, and the average broadcast volume per drama increased by 97 million.

however, during the industry's transformation period, it is still difficult to ensure that "every product is a high-quality product", and the output of the entire industry chain is still unstable.

for example, affected by the olympics, the summer season this year showed a downward trend. according to yunhe data, compared with the same period last year, iqiyi fell by 29%, mango tv fell by 29%, tencent video fell by 18%, and youku's playback volume increased by 6%, becoming the only platform with a positive growth in the effective playback volume of dramas on the entire network.

at the end of 2022, youku declared that it would "go all out for good content". after settling down, youku innovated its strategy and made great innovations, and achieved an independent upward trend during the industry adjustment cycle. then, when the playing style and pattern of long videos quietly changed,how did youku become the “catfish” that stirs up the market through “innovation”?

stirring up the industry, youku's summer schedule goes against the trend

this year, youku’s two hit dramas, “one at the beginning and one at the end”, really “propped up the drama market”.

first, xue fangfei fired the first shot in the summer tv series market with "mo yu yun jian". the main film of the drama has been broadcast over 3.2 billion times, more than 70% more than the second and third place, directly forming a gap leading. "bian shui past" became the "finale" of the summer tv series. after the broadcast, it made a strong comeback and ranked fourth on the yunhe data tv series v30 ranking list before it was finished.

according to lighthouse data, youku dramas occupied 3 seats in the top 5 of the summer costume drama feature film playback list, namely "mo yu yun jian", "du hua nian" and "young man on white horse drunk in spring breeze".

looking back at youku’s top summer dramas, almost every work has no counterpart in the market.

for example, in the female costume drama, youku has gone beyond the narrow themes of "love between men and women" and "family affairs" to explore women's self-selection and individual growth in the era. for example, the popular "mo yu yun jian" reflects the ability and courage of women to break through the private narratives of family and emotions and actively participate in the construction of the country.

moreover, "mo yu yun jian" directly abandons the usual formula for the commercial value of previous long dramas: super strong ip + top cast + advanced publicity and promotion standards.originally, among the colorful 2024 summer season, its start was even the loneliest one.

but the new narrative context and forward-looking content brought unexpected broadcast results.three days after its launch, "mo yu yun jian" not only surpassed 10,000 views, becoming the fastest youku drama to surpass 10,000 views in 2024, but also became a national hit, directly broadening the audience boundaries of costume dramas, and even driving a surge in youku app downloads. lighthouse data quickly topped the daily charts, with over 100 million views on the fourth day; cloud combination data continued to rise, with the highest market share reaching 28.1%, becoming the top hit of the summer season.

another example is the highest-scoring domestic suspense drama "border water past", which uses realistic creative techniques to create a foreign world where prosperity and decadence coexist. from the geographical environment, costumes and makeup to subtitles and opening credits, it boldly breaks through the visual presentation of previous long dramas, and its unique aesthetic style has been widely praised in the market.

the finished product of "bianshui past" is solid and has a good texture. according to youku, more than 40% of "bianshui past" users are male, which is more than 10 percentage points higher than the male users of costume romance dramas - directly pulling male audiences who don't like watching dramas back into the market.

at the 2023 new horn directors conference, youku vice president xie ying said: "in terms of production, the platform is reducing costs while paying more attention to improving capabilities and focusing on "internal skills". people are no longer keen on betting on blockbuster works, but are pursuing the continuous production of high-quality content. in the next stage, how to effectively screen, produce, and operate content will become the focus of the platform." while other video platforms are still in an unstable exploration period, youku has already used innovation to gain growth, boldly created new directions for dramas, and restored industry confidence.

in the long drama market, where can youku find "new"?

at the internet audiovisual conference on september 2, youku vice president xie ying once again emphasized the methodology of "using innovation to drive ultimate content power."this year, youku has "broken the old and emerged towards the new" in all aspects.

on the one hand, judging from several hit dramas, youku is looking for new growth in the red ocean of dramas.

mature ips certainly have their own popularity, but growing ips have greater room for development. as the ancient idol drama track is upgraded, youku's selection of dramas has begun to turn to new "growing ips". "sito", "changyue jinming", "xihuazhi" and "moyuyunjian" are all the first successful film and television works of the novel authors. youku's production team has found the most suitable creative team to incubate through a deep understanding of the original works, and uses the "most suitable people" to shoot the "most suitable drama".

in addition to the popular costume dramas and realistic themes, youku does not follow the flow of traffic, but chooses to produce high-quality products in niche tracks."young man on a white horse drunk in the spring breeze" fired the first shot in the 2024 live-action comic adaptation track. the drama is the first drama to exceed 10,000 views after the launch of youku's "young fantasy" content theme unit. following "young song", it is the second film and television work of the "zhou munan young jianghu series", which directly gained a group of new young users.

the comic adaptation and science fiction tracks are constantly innovating, not only opening up more blue ocean themes, but also being a strategic attempt by the industry to test the waters in virtual shooting, aigc, and explore the industrialization of film and television.

in addition to finding new growth in old themes and producing high-quality products in new tracks, youku also reshapes the audience's minds and gradually cultivates the audience's brand awareness of the new theater.

at the internet audiovisual conference on september 2, youku vice president xie ying said: "this year, youku officially upgraded the suspense theater to the white night theater and the pet theater to the shenghua theater. the brand iteration of the two theaters represents youku's continuous pursuit of differentiated and valuable content mentality guided by market judgment and user insights."

in april this year, youku's suspense theater was upgraded to the white night theater, with the slogan "the long night will end, and the truth will be revealed". in the same month, "pale fire" directed by magnolia award judge yao xiaofeng was launched, followed by "new life" created by emerging director shen ao. in august, the new "border water past" started low and ended high, and the discussion on social platforms continued to rise. white night theater has launched three new suspense dramas in four months, and douban scores are all above 7 points.

in the first half of 2024, youku's suspense web drama playback volume has jumped to the first place in the industry, and it has undoubtedly become the number one brand of domestic suspense dramas. currently, the audience has counted the douban scores of the three major suspense theaters in 2024. three works of youku's "white night theater" are on the list, and they are ranked top1, top2 and top5 on the word-of-mouth list respectively.

youku, tapping into the new generation of “rich mines” through innovation

in addition to venturing into uncharted territory in terms of content and subject matter, youku has also focused in recent years on tapping into the power of the new generation as a "gold mine" for sustainable development.

one of the important reasons why youku has produced a continuous stream of great dramas this year is that youku has always supported creators in creating "daring to be the first" and highly innovative works.

the benefits and freshness brought by the original big ip, big actors, and big traffic have passed.youku encourages the use of newcomers and actors who are suitable for the roles.in dramas such as "du huanian", "mo yu yun jian" and "new life", the main characters are basically new generation actresses, and there are also many powerful new faces in the supporting roles.

on the other hand, the "four new chinese drama directors" that people's daily commented and praised some time ago include shen ao, director of "new life", xin shuang, director of "the long season", suan, director of "border water past", and xu hongyu, director of "under the alien".among them, shen ao, suan, and xu hongyu are all from youkuit is understood that in the past five years, the debut works of 294 screenwriters and 38 directors have been broadcast on youku.

for youku, the "rich mine" of new talents has begun to show its strength through continuous excavation and cultivation. not only that, continuous investment in the new generation and original ip also means making reserves for the future. youku has launched a series of talent support programs for young directors and screenwriters, including the "new horn young director support program" and the "outstanding screenwriter program", which have enabled many young directors and screenwriters to realize their creative ideas. it is reported that the director has confirmed that he will cooperate with youku more after "border water past".

it is worth mentioning that in terms of internal operating mechanism, youku implements the "producer-centered system". compared with film and television companies that are responsible for their own profits and losses, the platform can bear the financial pressure for producers, thereby cultivating more "hexagonal" teams and producers who can take on important responsibilities and bear pressure independently, and focus on the content itself.

in addition to tapping into the "rich mine of newcomers", youku continues to invest in the "rich mine of original creations", and in the two-way pursuit of film and television and literature, it continues to broaden the connotation and extension of ip adaptation.

xie ying mentioned in her speech: "the themes and genres are always changing, and we insist on interpreting deeper human care with more profound social issues." at present, realism is returning and serious literature is being welcomed again. how to continuously renovate realistic themes is the direction that youku is constantly exploring. this year's "pale fire" by youku uses a microcosm of small town life to outline the violence and anti-violence faced by women in acquaintance society and private relationships, bringing a reflection on the contradictions between individuals and collectives, freedom and constraints in modern society.

image source: pale fire official blog

at the end of 2022, youku declared that it would "go all out for good content". since then, "innovation" has become the main theme of youku. last year, alibaba entertainment announced its core strategy, which mentioned:youku will adhere to the top content strategy, increase the proportion of self-produced content, and strengthen the minds of members through stable and differentiated exclusive content; with the help of technological innovations such as ai, it will basically achieve standardization, process-based, and digitalized film and television production within three years, cultivate a new generation of creators, and promote the upgrading of the cultural and entertainment industry.

this year's youku summer schedule has given the entire industry confidence. the dormant period has passed, and youku's moment of "rebirth" has just begun.

(the header image of this article comes from youku official weibo and moyuyunjian official weibo.)