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entering 2024, after a series of actions to improve quality and reduce quantity, major platforms have entered a period of relatively "stable development": for example, the just-concluded summer season, although it did not seem to be as "explosive" as some summer seasons in previous years, but from the perspective of phenomena and data, it still maintained a stable level - this is the result of "respecting the laws of creation."

the top works still have the "goblet effect", and the "segmented products" of each track continue to test the reserves of each platform. at the macro level, it also reflects "who can best adhere to the creative rules and who can best maintain their position."

this is true for the summer season, and even more so on a longer timeline.

summer season puts big platforms to the test

perhaps due to different statistical calibers, different data agencies have different judgments on this summer season.

according to the lighthouse professional edition, during the 2024 summer season (june-august), the drama market had 49 days above the annual average, with a single-day peak of 389 million. although the number of new dramas decreased by 10 compared to last year's 63, the overall playback volume continued to increase, exceeding 20% ​​over the same period last year.

(data source: lighthouse professional edition)

according to the report of yunhe data, the effective broadcast volume of tv series in the whole network in 2024 will be 64.3 billion, a year-on-year decline of 17%; endata did not involve the broadcast volume data of the overall market, but only mentioned that the number of new releases has indeed declined, and the boundary between tv broadcast and online broadcast has been further blurred. overall, this is a relatively "smooth" summer season.

(data source: entdata)

regardless of which report comes from which source, several top works such as "joy of life season 2", "longing for love season 2", "the story of rose", "ink rain and clouds", and "the journey to the west" have been mentioned repeatedly, reflecting the natural popularity of top works. among them, "joy of life season 2", "longing for love season 2", and "the story of rose" are all produced by tencent video. whether in terms of hard data or presence on social networks, they can become representatives of the 2024 summer season.

2024 happens to be the year of the summer olympics. the whole nation's attention to the olympics will obviously have a certain impact on the drama market, but judging from the line chart, a decline of about 4% is relatively controllable (data source: yunhe data).

(data source: yunhe data)

after the olympics, the overall market recovered relatively slowly, which may be related to the platform's scheduling strategy. it also indirectly shows that "explosive content" is hard to come by - good data naturally requires a hit, but on the whole, the "attention competition" of other forms of content on the overall attention of the drama market can be controlled within a certain range, which shows the "risk resistance" of the industry that has been on the right track.

in addition to the ability to resist risks, some trends in the 2024 summer drama season cannot be ignored.

for example, the effect of top works is still obvious, and high-quality ips and ip-adapted works still have the final say in popular seasons such as the summer vacation.

for example, although costume dramas, suspense, and romance are still the "three major tracks" of the summer season, in terms of proportion, the advantages of costume dramas are not as obvious as in previous years. only "longing for you season 2" and "the willow boat" have performed relatively well.

(data source: lighthouse professional edition)

corresponding to the trend is the response to the trend. the cyclical nature of drama production is obviously part of the risk. the more so, the more it tests the foresight of platforms and creators when thinking about problems. at this time, larger platforms and teams that can make more forward-looking decisions are a guarantee to resist the risk of "data fluctuations" during the stable period.

judging from the results, it is only natural that tencent video has become a platform that stands out.

advantages of tencent video

in terms of data, tencent video still holds the top spot in the platform - almost all data reports point to this. even in the line chart of youku mentioning that it has upgraded to the second place in the drama field, it actually reflects the advantage that tencent video has maintained in recent years.

(data source: entdata)

ip and serialized works are obviously one of the areas where tencent video has the most advantages. in the 2024 summer season, "joy of life season 2" and "longing for love season 2" performed well.

during the summer season, yunhe data also made a summary of ip/serial works. since 2017, ip and serial works have accounted for 14.8% of the total number of works, 17.5% of the total number of episodes, and the cumulative effective playback volume has reached 19.2%. if the scope is narrowed down to july 2022 to date, the two seasons of "celebrating yu nian" have achieved a gap leading, and "longing" and "ghost blowing light" series have also performed quite well.

(data source: yunhe data)

the audience's needs are changing dynamically, but the call for top works is constant, especially works like "joy of life". at the same time, the audience's aesthetic taste is improving day by day, and the requirements for such works are also rising, which also reflects the hard power of the platform.

in addition to "joy of life season 2", "the story of rose" is also adapted as an ip and has become an important force in tencent video's summer schedule. in fact, in the first half of the year, tencent video has achieved the phenomenon of "flower city" in january, "ice hunter" and "in the snowstorm" in february, "traveling with the phoenix" in march, "the story of joy" and "spring in the lovers" in april, "joy of life season 2" in may, and "the story of rose" in june.

(photo source: douban)

in addition to the top works, competition in various sub-tracks is also intensifying. occupying a position in each track is also a reflection of the platform's courage. in addition to the continued outstanding performance of the costume track "longing season 2", the reality-themed "the story of roses" shows different cross-sections of contemporary women's lives like a prism, and its golden lines frequently go viral; "the willow boat" relies on the characteristics of a light comedy in ancient costumes and gains favor through its down-to-earth atmosphere; "song of ordinary people" depicts urban groups; "when mountain flowers bloom" writes about the power of education with a realistic brushstroke, etc., which are all quite outstanding works this summer.

keywords such as "highball glass effect", "be adventurous, not boring", and "meet diversified needs" are some insights mentioned by tencent video at its mid-year press conference. it is both a summary and an ongoing practice, as well as the audience and industry's outlook on a platform.

where is the industry going?

how to make a conclusion about this summer season? in fact, there is some controversy among many parties. some data do show that this is a relatively "smooth" summer season. affected by various factors, there are not many outstanding data.

but on the other hand, fluctuations in the overall data are inevitable. compared with the difficult period of the industry, the drama industry today already has its own set of methods and the ability to withstand such fluctuations.

after all, "non-standard products" and "works" have always been the charm of the content industry, and therefore attracted the attention of countless viewers. another aspect of this is that the reputation and trust that tencent video has gradually accumulated on the audience side will become the source of the platform's adherence to its own "creative rules". after insight, it has the confidence to "integrate knowledge and action" and continue its own strategy, and will not be afraid of temporary fluctuations.

this kind of success often comes with inertia. to explain it in the simplest terms, last year we had "the three-body problem" and "the long season", at the end of the year and the beginning of the year it was "fang hua", at the end of the first half of the year it was "joy of life season 2", and since then "the story of rose" and "longing for you season 2", and even a series of works on the tencent video list later, can all become "platform value" - yes, the inertia of maturity and creating good works will also become a subconscious "platform value" in the minds of the audience.

among all the platforms, tencent video is also relatively prominent in terms of the inertia of "where the industry is going".

(photo source: weibo @繁花blossomsshanghai@庆余年官微@电视玫瑰故事@电视长相思)

whether it is the previous metaphor of "plateau and peak" or the recent insights of "goblet effect", "be adventurous, don't be boring", and "meet diverse needs", they are all summarized from front-line creative practice or cooperation with creators. in this way, occupying a position will be more natural, and the continuation of strategy and capabilities will become more "sustainable".

this ability also includes the ability to observe changes. after all, "the only constant is change", and nothing can give long video platforms more confidence than mastering core capabilities in the midst of change.

(data source: lighthouse professional edition)

for example, this summer, audiences are entering a "sugar control period". this phenomenon requires the platform to quickly respond to the cause and effect behind it, rather than simply and crudely attribute it and make changes in decision-making. from an organizational perspective, tencent video has a very stable management and producer team, and has always emphasized efforts to improve the capabilities of the mid-stage team, such as literary editing, production support, production empowerment, and marketing and distribution.

from this point of view, why is tencent video the winner in the first half of the year, and why is it also the winner of this "smooth summer season"? if you think about it carefully, "just happened" is not "just happened" at all. this is a long-term layout, a moat, and the confidence of being the "first platform".