Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, calls a truce in war on long-form video with iQiyi licensing deal

Douyin will be authorised to ‘recreate’ shows from iQiyi’s signature Light On channel, which includes nine already-released series in the crime and thriller genres
iQiyi has been struggling with profitability, leading to lay-offs last year when it trimmed more than 30 per cent of workers in departments such as marketing and distribution

TikTok

Coco Fengin Beijing

Published: 5:00pm, 19 Jul 2022

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Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok known for its 15-second short videos, is snapping up rights to films and television shows through a partnership with iQiyi, China’s answer to Netflix.

The deal gives Douyin, which has over 600 million daily active users in China, rights to edit iQiyi’s long-form content into short video clips, according to a statement by Douyin on Tuesday.

The move could be seen as a truce in the bitter war between long-form videos, usually professional productions, and shorts, often amateur-generated video clips such as lip-synching performances.

The unauthorised re-editing of copyrighted productions was once rampant on China’s short video platforms, causing huge losses for sites such as iQiyi, which had losses of nearly US$1 billion in 2021.

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China’s online video platforms, including iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku, signed a joint statement in April 2021 condemning individuals and firms producing and profiteering from “best-of” clips, mini reviews, and abridged versions of shows and films without proper authorisation.

Under the new agreement, Douyin will be granted a license to “recreate” shows from iQiyi’s signature Light On channel, which includes nine already-released series in the crime and thriller genres. Among them, The Bad Kids and The Long Night, won prizes at the Asia Content Awards in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Besides Douyin, other platforms under ByteDance, including news aggregator Jinri Toutiao and Xigua Video, a site for live-streaming and video sharing, will have access to the content.

The two sides “will also cooperate in other operational areas”, iQiyi said in an earlier statement on Monday, without clarification.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We believe our cooperation will unlock new opportunities that will enrich the online video ecosystem, increase the value of our existing intellectual property, broaden monetisation opportunities, and create a win-win for both platforms, content creators, and our users,” said Gong Yu, founder and chief executive of iQiyi.

iQiyi has been struggling with profitability, leading to lay-offs late last year when it trimmed more than 30 per cent of workers in departments such as marketing and distribution. After the cuts, it reported its first ever quarterly profit for the January to March period this year.

“Douyin has always respected intellectual property rights and actively sought better cooperation with long-form video platforms,” said Douyin head Zhang Nan.

Douyin, along with other user-generated content platforms like Kuaishou Technology and Bilibili, has long been mired in intellectual property disputes. Creators on these platforms find it popular to re-edit films and dramas or interpret the plots in their own way.

From left, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow in “Friends: The Reunion.” Photo: Handout/HBO Max

Last year, Friends: The Reunion – a special episode of the hugely popular American television sitcom Friends – was released in China through three officially licensed video-streaming platforms. However, the platforms – iQiyi, Tencent Video and Alibaba Group Holding-backed Youku – jointly alleged that Bilibili intentionally provided a platform for pirated versions of the special.

Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

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