BEIJING, Oct. 10, 2024 -- iQIYI, China's leading online entertainment platform, released its viewership data and content trends for the 2024 National Day Holiday (October 1-7) this week, revealing an 11% sequential increase in total viewing time compared to the pre-holiday period and highlighting a growing appetite for diverse content. Viewers turned to traditional favorites like drama series, films, and animation, while light and entertaining genres such as comedy and variety shows saw exceptional growth, and short-form content continued to gain popularity as a general trend.
A Rich Selection of Premium Content Continues to Captivate Viewers
Drama series continued to dominate holiday content consumption on iQIYI, leading the viewing time across genres. New releases such as Born To Be The One, The Limbo, Wind Direction, Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2: To the West, and Go East quickly entered the top 10 on the popularity chart, followed by iQIYI's evergreen hits like The Knockout and Story of Kunning Palace, which continued to rank in the top 20 as popular picks for repeat viewing.
Viewers showed stronger interests in films, as evidenced by a 70% surge in viewing time for iQIYI's film channel compared to the previous period, with 29 titles newly added between September 30 and October 7. By the end of the holiday, four films - Successor, Go For Broke, Upstream, and A Place Called Silence - ranked in the platform's top 10 most popular content.
Notably, the comedy film Successor, which led the 2024 Chinese mainland summer box office, set a new record on iQIYI's film popularity index with a score of 9,247. The iQIYI-presented action film Blade of Fury also received high ratings for its high-quality production. Additionally, data indicated that 40% of users opted for big screens, reflecting a growing preference for a richer viewing experience alongside a diverse content slate.
Viewing time for variety shows also experienced both annual and sequential growth, with a 37% yearly uptick. The hit show The King of Stand-up Comedy led in both viewing time and popularity, bringing constant laughs to audiences. Other popular IPs also maintained strong following, highlighting their lasting appeal. For example, seasons 1, 2 and a spinoff of Become a Farmer all secured spots in the top 5 for variety show viewing time.
Holiday data further revealed a significant jump in viewing time for iQIYI's animation and kids' content, rising by 69% and 35%, respectively. The iconic series One Piece claimed the top spot on the animation popularity chart, followed closely by How Dare You!, an iQIYI original production. PAW Patrol Season 10 emerged as the most popular title among kids' content, standing out within iQIYI's rich library of engaging programming for young viewers.
Short-Form Content Emerging as a New Choice for Viewers
To meet the increasing demand for concise storytelling and short-form content, iQIYI recently launched brand-new 'Micro-Drama Theater' and 'Short-Drama Theater' at its iJOY conference held last month. It also curated a dedicated section on its homepage to highlight such content during the holiday, featuring popular titles like Awaken Lion and The Great Nobody.
With a variety of genres, from suspense to period romance, iQIYI's short dramas have resonated with viewers of all ages. The period drama Hard Noble Lady surpassed RMB6 million (US$850,000) in shared revenue by October 1 and broke through the RMB7 million mark (US$1 million) by October 8.
New micro-dramas also received a positive market response, with The Obsessive Boss achieving a popularity score of 4,500 within 24 hours of release, gathering over 40 million views from 4 million viewers.
Furthermore, iQIYI recently announced that, starting in October, the new 'Micro-Drama Theater' will debut two mobile-optimized vertical dramas each week, with episodes lasting 1 to 5 minutes, aimed at both younger and older viewers.
Simultaneously, the 'Short-Drama Theater' will release one new title weekly, offering episodes between 5 and 20 minutes across various genres, further expanding the platform's content library.
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