China’s iQIYI Investing in 40-Plus New Shows for 2016

BEIJING: The Chinese online video service iQIYI is planning to purchase or produce more than 40 new shows in 2016, committing around 50 percent of its budget for the full year to this effort.

The service currently has more than 500 million users and 5 million paid subscribers. It boasts one of the largest movie libraries in China's online video landscape, with more than 6,000 titles (2,500 of which are from the Hollywood studios).

iQIYI has also announced that the Chinese stars Yang Yang, Angelababy and Huang Bo will become image ambassadors for the iQIYI subscription business.

"Through our efforts over the years, iQIYI has grown to become China's leading online streaming website with the largest online paid subscriber base and the biggest collection of premium content," said Xianghua Yang, iQIYI's senior VP. "We are confident that subscription revenue will become a major revenue source for iQIYI, and we will continue to invest to provide the best premium content and user experience for our paid subscribers."