compact plot, exciting plot, multiple character copies to stage "wishful grudges"... Recently, the TV series "Mo Yu Yun Jian" has exploded, with more than 37 million views on the first day, quickly becoming one of the most popular dramas on Youku. one. However, halfway through the broadcast, the platform suddenly "cut down the number of updates" and launched a new payment method - the finale gift.
To watch the drama, you need to recharge your VIP and upgrade your svip. Even if the finale comes out, if you want to watch it within 30 days, you need to spend another 24 yuan to order the movie in advance. This operation caused collective dissatisfaction among netizens. They believed that after paying to become a member, they had to pay separately to watch the content of the series. The platform unilaterally modified the broadcast plan, which was suspected of deliberately extending the broadcast cycle to obtain greater benefits.
Previously, the popular "Storm" adopted an "advance on-demand" update method and was named by the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission as suspected of bundled sales and a disregard for consumers' right to choose. On October 4, 2021, iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku, the three leading platforms in the long video field, successively announced the official cancellation of advance on-demand services, aiming to provide users with a better experience.
In less than three years, "advanced on-demand" has been reborn in more forms. New payment methods are frequently introduced, the boundaries of member rights are unclear, and the membership system of video websites is still controversial.
Picture/picture insect creativity
VIP rights that cannot be unlocked
As a senior member user, Xu Tianqi also participated in this discussion.
Since 2019, Xu Tianqi has registered as a member of multiple long video platforms. He told China News Weekly that due to scattered resources, one platform cannot satisfy his pursuit of high-quality content. Even so, VIP users still have many restrictions today. Before adding the "finale closing ceremony", the long video platform launched svip on the basis of VIP, so users can watch the latest episode 6 hours in advance.
"If you want to keep up with the progress of popular TV series, VIP users have to purchase more expensive membership packages. It's like going to a restaurant to eat, and the waiter asks that the food be served earlier and you need to pay more. Is this reasonable?" Xu Tianqi said, When I signed up for membership in the past, there were no ads at all. Later, there were some pre-roll ads and embedded ads. Screencasting from mobile phone to TV also needs to be upgraded to svip. The platform is gradually testing the boundaries of the audience and compressing the rights and interests of consumers. The cost of use for consumers has become higher, but the experience has not improved accordingly. After all, the core value of the VIP system is to watch in advance and remove advertisements. If these rights and interests are to be discounted, then what is the point of the membership system?
In fact, in the VIP membership service agreements of many video websites, it is mentioned that "the VIP membership service agreement stipulates that priority content does not include paid advance on-demand" and "svip/vip featured service content platforms have the right to change the copyright in accordance with legal regulations and policies." "Adjust all or part of the content according to party requirements, operational needs, etc." and other related content, and explain in advance the on-demand payment and adjustment of the broadcast progress.
"The key is that the terms of service must be fair and reasonable, and information of important interest to consumers must be reminded in a conspicuous way." Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, said in an interview, If the platform launches services other than VIP, if the pricing is reasonable and there is sufficient competition, there is nothing wrong with it in principle. However, the update progress in the promotion of the "Drama Calendar" constitutes an important factor affecting consumer decisions. If the series cannot be broadcast due to factors other than force majeure, the platform will lose its trust with the audience. At this time, the platform will take the opportunity to charge more to unlock new series. , and is even suspected of breach of contract in disguise. In his view, although the platform has the right to formulate rules, the rules must be fair and reasonable, taking into account the user experience, and cannot lower service standards or calculate users under the guise of operational needs.
In the meantime, Youku customer service responded to the update reduction of the TV series "Mo Yu Yun Jian". It stated that it had recorded feedback on the update reduction issue and would provide feedback to the relevant teams. “Such a response is clearly unconvincing."Xu Tianqi believes that no matter what the reason is, the platform should give full explanations and explanations to users in advance, and then promptly notify users of the reasons for changes and new update arrangements through announcements, media and other channels to obtain the maximum understanding from users. and support.
The growth anxiety behind the "Member Chaos"
Why does this much-criticized consumption model still persist in the dispute?
The performance of Alibaba Group released on May 14th may be the most intuitive explanation. , Alibaba Entertainment's revenue in Q1 this year was 4.945 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 1%; the adjusted EBita (the company's operating profit under the influence of depreciation and amortization, interest, income tax and other factors) was -884 million yuan. Reports show that it was only in the past two years that iQiyi and Tencent Video began to make money. After more than ten years of continuous losses, in 2022, under non-GAAP financial indicators, iQiyi finally achieved a full-year profit of 1.3 billion yuan for the first time. Tencent Video’s annual revenue in 2022 exceeded 10 billion yuan, and it also started to make profits in October of that year.
Industry insiders pointed out that the revenue channels of the long video platform mainly come from c. End membership subscription and B-end advertising services. Thanks to the basic strategy of a small number of high-quality products, the driving effect of popular products, and the collective increase in membership fees, the long video platform has gradually struggled out of the quagmire of profitability
《China. The Online Audiovisual Development Research Report (2024)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") shows that as of December 2023, the number of online audiovisual users in my country has reached 1.074 billion. "However, the number of paid members of the long video platform is only 250 million. Behind the gap, It just shows that users’ audio-visual needs are very strong. "On June 25, Youku Vice President Xie Ying mentioned at the Shanghai TV Festival seminar that growth is still an eternal topic in the industry. As traffic gradually peaks, user growth will gradually slow down, and it will be difficult to acquire new paying members. It will undoubtedly increase.
Behind the "unlockable VIP rights" is the commercialization anxiety of long-form video platforms. Under the pressure of increasing revenue and profit, "matryoshka-style charging", drama screenings, and offline singing New ways to increase revenue will also emerge. However, what ultimately supports consumption behavior is the content itself. Chen Yinjiang said that if the platform just makes up the story. Charging more, regardless of consumers’ experience, consumers will definitely vote with their feet in the future, which will ultimately be detrimental to the long-term development of the platform and the industry.
Long video platform competition has entered the “second half”
In fact, the growth of membership business does not only depend on scale. Driven by the arm value (monthly average single member income), a higher arm value means that the platform can obtain more income from each member, usually by increasing membership prices, launching more value-added services, or improving membership consumption frequency and other methods.
In April this year, Netflix announced that it would only release data when the number of users reaches key milestones, saying that it will continue to care about the growth of the number of subscribers, but will mainly focus on maximizing long-term revenue and "user engagement." ".
It is worth mentioning that in the financial report released by iQiyi on May 16, the number of members was also not announced. In this regard, the explanation given by iQiyi founder Gong Yu was: "The membership indicator can only be partially It shows how good or bad the membership business is. Over-emphasis on this number will interfere with our daily work. "
These measures release the same signal. After bidding farewell to the rapid growth stage, the long video platform's competition in the "second half" is to shift its energy to service inventory, pay more attention to improving members' arm value, retention and repurchase rate, and explore new The profit model and value-added services focus on creating high-quality products to achieve long-term growth.
Some people believe that the new model represented by the "finale closing gift" is a value-added service designed to meet the needs of some users. This is the market. The product of segmentation is also an active attempt of the platform.
Cui Lili, a professor at the Department of Digital Economics at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and executive director of the E-Commerce Research Institute, said in an interview that these need to be based on fairness, transparency, and voluntariness. The platform should respond to users’ concerns in a timely and sincere manner, and pay attention to the final decision. Make reasonable adjustments to value-added services such as gifts. “First, we must clearly define and inform users of the standards and scope of charging; secondly, we must optimize differentiated services for members at different levels so that users can feel value for money,” Cui Lili said. The
"Report" pointed out that more than 17,000 long video works will be launched in 2023, and the stock of major long video platforms will reach more than 120,000. Online audiovisuals are still an important supply of "entertainment feast" for the public. In the past year, the long-form video industry has been attacked by short dramas. Data shows that the number of key online micro-short dramas will double in 2023, and the user stickiness of micro-short dramas is growing rapidly. 40% of users often watch and 30% of users have paid.
Some netizens said, "It usually costs tens to hundreds of yuan to fully unlock a short drama. Now the monthly fee for long video membership is generally around 30 yuan, which is relatively affordable. As long as the content can keep up and the service experience is good, in fact, There are many people willing to pay the bill."
Returning to the currently controversial membership-based services, the reason why the platform unilaterally controls the formulation and modification of membership rules and acts as an "athlete" while also acting as a "referee" is because the industry currently lacks strong authority. Strong disciplinary mechanism and external supervision. "While we call on enterprises to establish the concept of sustainable development, we also hope that relevant departments will improve top-level design, formulate standard systems, and strengthen regulatory guidance. We urge enterprises to truly and comprehensively inform consumers in advance of service content, charging standards, liability for breach of contract, etc. Let consumers be fully informed and make their own choices."
Perhaps rather than "cutting the cake," platforms should focus more on how to turn consumers' expectations into substantial innovation power and "make the cake bigger" with word-of-mouth and continuous high-quality content supply.
Published in the 1148th issue of "China News Weekly" magazine on July 15, 2024
magazine title: Why do members on the video platform always have rights that cannot be unlocked?
Reporter: Wu Liting
