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Welcome to iQIYI’s bi-weekly news round-up! Here you’ll find the latest news and stories from the company, from entertainment, tech to business and from local to regional. If you are interested in learning more about iQIYI, please do not hesitate to reach out to press@qiyi.com .

(Nov. 29, 2021-Dec. 10, 2021)

CONTENT

Luoyang Gains Heat Worldwide

Luoyang has achieved significant popularity worldwide since it first aired on Dec. 1. Within 22 hours of airing, the show’s content popularity index—which iQIYI generates from user viewing, interaction, and sharing and other user activities—reached 9,000, which qualifies as a “national hit” by iQIYI’s standard and makes it the fastest show to crack 9,000 this year.

Luoyang also received over 150 hot searches across the Internet and appeared in top Twitter trends in Singapore, Thailand, and many other overseas markets. According to MyDramaList, the world’s largest database and social community for Asian dramas and movies, Luoyang has the high score of 8.5/10. Within five days of airing, over 10 million bullet comments were shared by viewers of the show so far.

Poster of "Luoyang"

Showcasing traditional architectures, food culture, and ancient customs, Luoyang demonstrates to global audience the beauty of classic Chinese culture, the long, rich history of which the iQIYI Chinese Historic City Universe (iCHCU) sets out to reveal, which is another step iQIYI took to promote Chinese-language content (C-content) worldwide. 
 
As part of the iCHCU of Luoyang development plan, iQIYI also announced that the original documentary ShenDu Luoyang premieres on Dec. 9 and the original animation Luoyang (Anime) on Dec. 17.

Super Sketch Show by iQIYI Hit Content Popularity

Since the Super Sketch Show aired on Oct. 15, the drop of every new episode has inspired wide discussion and spontaneous sharing among viewers. As the seventh episode aired on Dec. 3, the program continues to top the iQIYI content popularity index chart of the variety show category and has gained over 540 hot searches across the Internet. The discussions of the show garnered over 300 million views so far on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

A still of "Super Sketch Show"

Co-produced by iQIYI and Mewe Media, the Super Sketch Show is an original comedy competition variety show that broadcasts exclusively on iQIYI. Presenting in a style that resonates with the young people today, the program selects comedic talents with high potential, to present a wide range of different comedic styles from sketch comedy and musical to pantomime.

iQIYI Announces Six More Originals

On Dec. 1, iQiyi International revealed six new original productions—including five Malaysian productions and the company’s first Thai show—as the company spotlighted its 2021 wins at this year’s Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF).

“On top of our already announced original productions from South Korea and Philippines, we hope these six original series from Malaysia and Thailand will become globally recognised and loved in 2022,” said KUEK Yu-Chuang, iQIYI’s Vice President of International Business.

iQIYI spotlighted its 2021 wins

During the Content Showcase, iQIYI also shared top highlights, such as the doubling of its monthly users in Southeast Asia from the previous year, which was largely driven by the popularity of premium contents from South Korea, China, Malaysia and Thailand, and the continued growth in C-content viewing, which in terms of viewing time, was four times that of 2020.
 
As of Oct. 31, the iQIYI international app has been downloaded over 50 million times around the world in 2021, making it one of the most downloaded streaming applications in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

iQIYI Original K-series Bad and Crazy Primed for Global Launch

iQiyi International announced in a global press conference on Dec. 13 that its year-end heavyweight Original Korean drama series Bad and Crazy will be premiere on Dec. 17, across 191 territories globally on iQiyi International app, and www.iQ.com.
 
Produced by the team behind The Uncanny Counter, Bad and Crazy is a heroic drama that follows capable but bad cop Ryu Su Yeol regaining his humanity after meeting the righteous but crazy ‘K’.

The lead actors and actress attending the press conference (from left to right): Lee Dong Wook, Cha Hak Yeon, Han Ji Eun and Wi Ha Jun

The drama stars Lee Dong Wook (Tale of the Nine Tailed, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God), Wi Ha Jun (Squid Game, 18 Again, Something in the Rain), Han Ji Eun (Lovestruck in the City, Be Melodramatic) and Cha Hak Yeon (Mine, Children of Nobody).
 
On Oct. 11, iQIYI unveiled its international slate, among which were four new Korean original productions including Bad and Crazy, two Philippines originals, and new exclusive content from Thailand and Malaysia.

My Heroic Husband by iQIYI Awarded “Best Comedy Programme”

On Dec. 8, iQIYI announced that its comedy My Heroic Husband won “Best Comedy Programme” at the 2021 Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA).
 
My Heroic Husband tells the story of a frustrated novelist accidently travelling back to the ancient times where he helps his wife run the family business. The series is one of iQIYI’s top hits, accumulating views on over 180 million devices and inspiring over 16 million bullet comments from viewers.

“My Heroic Husband” Awarded Best Comedy Programme

For years, iQIYI has led the launch of internationally recognized C-content, including award-wining series The Bad Kids, The Long Night, and A Love For Dilemma.
 
The AAA is a prestigious award for creative excellence, which features acclaimed works from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and other APAC countries.

iQIYI Debuts New “Light On” Series Who is the Murder

The eighth installment of “Light On” series, Who is the Murder aired exclusively on Dec. 5 on iQIYI platforms. The show tells a story of three protagonists solving a murder mystery resurfacing after 17 years. Before the show aired, over three million iQIYI users had already registered their interest in viewing the show.

iQIYI's “Light On” series, a major installment in iQIYI's endeavors in the suspense genre, has become a significant feat in the development of Chinese entertainment through its global distribution achievements. Creative in its artistic expression, the series offers nuanced observations on the lives of ordinary people, provoking wide social conversations in China and beyond.

Previously in the series, The Pavilion navigates the complexity of family relations, and Wisher explores the concerns brought on by technological innovations. With the release of Who is the Murder, the “Light On” series captures humanity’s relentless pursuit of justice.

TECHNOLOGY

iQIYI Launches Qiyu Dream, the Second All-in-One VR Headset in a Year

On Dec. 1, iQIYI subsidiary iQIYI Smart announced the launch of a new all-in-one VR headset, Qiyu Dream, which, following the launch of iQIYI Qiyu 3 in September, is the second new product launched by iQIYI Smart this year. As of Dec. 10, the first batch of Qiyu Dream is sold out, and this is only two days after the device's official release on e-commerce channels. 

XIONG Wen, CEO of iQIYI Smart, said: "At the price of RMB 1,999 yuan (around 314 USD), Qiyu Dream aims to further popularize VR products and allow more users to enter the metaverse and experience it for themselves.”

XIONG Wen, CEO of iQIYI Smart

The Qiyu Dream is powered by Qualcomm Technologies' Snapdragon XR2, with a large memory to ensure a smooth gaming experience for users. The headset also comes at a lighter weight with adjustable screen brightness, ensuring a comfortable viewing experience for users even with long-time wear.

According to the report of China Merchants Securities, China's VR/AR market reached RMB 27.89 billion yuan in 2020, up 88.9% year-on-year. From a global perspective, the profitability of the VR industry's business model of "hardware sales + software commission" has been fully verified.
 
iQIYI is among the first long-form video companies in China to invest in the VR software and hardware ecology. On hardware products, iQIYI completes a product iteration on average once a year. On content development, iQIYI has also built an innovative content ecology featuring dramas, films, variety shows, and games.

iQIYI Shares Insights on Technology-Based Content Creation

CHEN Xiao, iQIYI’s Senior Vice President, presented virtually at the ATF on Dec. 1. Chen shared his views on leveraging technology to enable content creation in the entertainment industry, while building an industrialized system for video production.
 
“As an entertainment company driven by technological innovation, iQIYI has been actively promoting the convergence between AI applications and video services and has achieved great results in full-process intelligent video services, such as intelligent creation, intelligent production, and intelligent broadcasting. In addition, the implementation of artificial intelligence in iQIYI’s business has helped the company select the right films to take online, which has reduced cost and enhanced return on investment,” Chen said.

CHEN Xiao, iQIYI’s Senior Vice President

Chen also noted that “Now digitial technologies allow us to preserve all of the scenes and elements in the video materials as digital assests, which can be reused in the future in many scenarios, such as creating games, variety shows, and even other TV series and movies can be reused.” Luoyang, according to Chen, is one example of using this technology.
 
Lastly, Chen shared his hope that all outstanding creators will come and work with iQIYI. Chen said that creators not only provide fresh content, but they also help the company understand, improve, and apply the tools of film and television industrialization. “We hope to produce more and more high-quality content through the innovation,” Chen said.