Sohu Video is no longer conservative after increasing investment in the first platform for high-quality online dramas

The battle for copyrights among video websites is in full swing, with all major video websites attempting to seek maximum differentiation by focusing on online content.

Sohu Video is no exception. In order to build a reputation as the top platform for high-quality online dramas, Sohu Video CEO Zhang Chaoyang recently said, "We were conservative in content investment last year, which led to a decline in some video traffic, but this year we have basically rejoined the battle for video content procurement and have become more aggressive in investment."

The intensive launch of a series of self-produced and American TV series such as "Queen of Evaluations", "School Beauty Intimate", "Dear, Princess Syndrome", and "The Big Bang Theory" once again proved Zhang Chaoyang's offensive stance.

Alternative self-made dramas are popular before they are aired

At the end of last year, the concept trailer of the new online series "Dear Princess Syndrome" planned and produced by Sohu Video was released, which was the "first shot" of Sohu Video's self-produced series in 2016. As the series has gathered a large number of handsome men and beautiful women of the new generation, and the popular actress Qi Wei served as the art director, it has been sought after by a large number of fans and the attention of the industry.

It is understood that the cute idol web drama "Dear, Princess Syndrome" starring Thai stars Mike, Zhang Yuxi, Du Yan, Chen Bairong and others will be officially launched on Sohu Video on August 11. The drama tells the cute love story between several students of Siye Art College. Art is a game for the rich. Siye Art College is naturally full of children of celebrities and tycoons. Among this group of noble handsome men and beautiful women, one day, a grassroots girl as kind and innocent as a little white flower came. As expected, this little white flower was bullied by the evil forces on campus from the first day she entered the school...

Ma Ke, General Manager of Sohu Video Copyright Film and Television Center, said, "Dear Princess is very different from previous youth idol dramas. First of all, the drama has the participation of Thai male god Mike. When the trailer was first released, many fans were looking forward to it, because after Bai Liuli in Wu Xin: The Monster Killer and Zhu Bajie in Journey to the West, Mike can finally play a normal person in a Chinese film and television drama, which is also a dream we fulfilled for our fans. Secondly, the story, characters and music of Dear Princess are different from previous idol dramas, which is our ambition for this drama."

Qi Wei, who served as producer for the first time, said that she felt more pressure than an actor. She was also confident about this work, which she participated in creating. She believed that it would achieve impressive results on the Sohu Video platform and lock in the strongest online drama of this summer season in advance.

Lock in the number one platform for high-quality web dramas

Sohu Video has proven that online dramas have a certain influence on the audience with a series of successful works such as "Diaosi Man", "Fleeting Time", "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" and "He's Coming, Please Close Your Eyes". Recently, Sohu released its second quarter financial report, which showed that Sohu's second quarter revenue was US$420 million, a year-on-year decline of 15%.

Zhang Chaoyang said, "We were conservative in content investment last year, which led to a decline in some video traffic. But this year we have basically rejoined the battle for video content procurement and have become more aggressive in investment. Now the top five TV series are available on our competitors' websites as well."

From 2014 to 2015, the turbulent Sohu Video fell into a passive position in the fierce competition in the industry. Zhang Chaoyang was obviously aware of this problem, and a series of actions such as buying dramas, self-production, and big movies also showed his offensive stance.

In terms of content creation, Sohu Video plans to spend 200 million yuan to directly support producers in 2016, and will spend 3 billion yuan on advertising resources in the next three years. In terms of profit sharing subsidy policy, Sohu will give producers 40% of the profit, and producers who broadcast their videos exclusively can get up to 60% of the profit.

"Sohu is also continuing to invest in self-produced content. We will select the best IPs in the market and use our own funds and external funds to create online drama content that may not be broadcast on TV stations, but will only be broadcast on Sohu Video. For example, the program "School Beauty" we produced actually brings in traffic that is comparable to the traffic brought to us by the hit dramas on those big TV stations, but the cost is much lower. So we are putting more effort into self-produced content. Last year we produced seven programs, and this year we will produce 20 such programs."

When it comes to video content, the audience expresses their love in a very direct way. If the show is good, they will definitely follow it one after another and have a strong willingness to pay. After locking in the goal of becoming the number one platform for high-quality online dramas, users will ultimately make a fair judgment on whether Sohu Video has delivered satisfactory results.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.