Recently, the popular Youku drama "Mo Yu Yun Jian" entered its finale, but Youku suddenly added a "finale closing gift" for a separate fee, which was criticized by netizens for being ugly.
It is reported that starting from June 22, viewers who want to watch the last four episodes and extras of "Mo Yu Yun Jian" will need to pay 24 yuan separately. Prior to this, Youku had used this drama to continuously charge VIP and SVIP membership fees from users.
In response to this, Youku customer service said that the finale gift is an event held to give back to users for their support. Participating in the event and purchasing gift packages will give you free viewing tickets, and you can choose according to your viewing needs. There are relevant instructions in the event rules. Purchase any event gift pack and you will be given a coupon to watch the finale. This event will not affect your normal rhythm of watching the series. If you do not participate in this event, you can still watch it according to the update rhythm of the series.
In fact, the fact that Youku is accused of being “ugly” has something to do with the pressure on its performance.
In the first quarter of 2024, Dawen Entertainment became the only department among Alibaba’s six major business segments to experience a decline in performance, with a year-on-year decrease of 1%. The reason for the decline is Youku again. Alibaba used the words "Youku's revenue declined slightly." The last time
disclosed Youku's growth data in a financial report was in the second quarter of 2023, when Youku's subscription revenue increased by 5% year-on-year. The reason was the solo drama "Long Moon Lighting", which had a Douban score of only 5.6 and became the number one online drama at the time. In the third quarter of the same year, subscription revenue increased, but advertising revenue fell; in the fourth quarter, Youku's goodwill impairment dragged down operating profits.
It is worth noting that recently, from VIP to SVIP to the finale "screening ceremony", not only the Youku platform, the cost that viewers need to pay to quickly watch the drama has been rising. According to statistics, the closing gift price of Tencent Video's "Qing Yu Nian 2" is 15 yuan, "Rose Story" is 18 yuan, and "Mo Yu Yunjian" has reached a "new high", with the closing gift price reaching 24 yuan.
This means that in just 24 days, from the closing gift of "Qing Yu Nian 2" on May 30 to the closing gift of "Mo Yu Yunjian" on June 22, the price of the "plus gift package" on the video platform has increased. 60%.
“This year, the investment situation for some major projects on mainstream platforms is very pessimistic.” According to the Daily Economic News, some insiders pointed out that the endless stream of payment models is also related to the current practical difficulties faced by long video platforms. The platform’s impact on membership income The demand has exceeded expectations for advertising revenue.
Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Li Xuanzi comprehensive report
