Chen Tong passed Lei Jun's test. Xiaomi TV's "rebound" came too suddenly.

"Beijing New Yunnan Hotel" has always been hailed as a blessed land for traditional TV manufacturers to launch new products. Today, Xiaomi took advantage of this blessed land and held a media communication meeting about TV.

At the meeting, Lei Jun showed a report card of Chen Tong after he joined Xiaomi, which showed that " the total amount of Xiaomi TV content has jumped to the first place in the industry ."

What kind of dramatic changes have taken place in the "content" of Xiaomi TV in that six months?

Chen Tong's transcript

When Chen Tong joined Xiaomi last year, he said that he would use half a year to make a radical change in the content of Xiaomi TV. Since then, Chen Tong has used the US$1 billion given by Lei Jun to buy content for Xiaomi TV, including 1.8 billion for iQiyi, Youku Tudou, and Huace Film & TV.

The picture shows the official statistics given by Xiaomi

Xiaomi's official figures show that "Xiaomi TV has accumulated 2,805 TV series and 7,728 movies. In terms of core categories such as movies, TV series, variety shows, animation, and documentaries, it is 2.4 times, 1.4 times, 6.7 times, 1.1 times, and 4 times more than its competitors. After more than half a year of reserve of key content, the total amount of videos has ranked first in the market."

Lei Jun revealed at the scene that in the future Xiaomi will also introduce movies from major Hollywood film companies through partners. All Hollywood blockbusters in theaters this year will be available on Xiaomi TVs. In late June, live broadcasts of Chinese Super League sports events and concerts will be launched, and live broadcasts of the AFC Champions League will be launched in August. Video news services will also be launched in the near future.

Judging from the official data, it is indeed enough to surprise "competitors". The participation of mainstream film and television content providers such as iQiyi, Youku Tudou, Huace Film and Television, Sohu Video, PPTV, Mango TV, Fengxing Video, and Phoenix Video has turned Xiaomi TV products into a large video aggregation platform. The slogan of the press conference, "Inclusive of All Rivers", has already demonstrated Chen Tong's consistent style. Back then, Sina News was founded by relying on massive and rapid growth.

Lei Jun is obviously satisfied with Chen Tong's report card: "Chen Tong has handed in an impressive mid-term report card, and we look forward to an even more impressive final result. Xiaomi TV is one of my most proud Xiaomi products."

Leave professional matters to professionals

Lei Jun once emphasized, "Xiaomi is not a video website. We can cooperate with all video websites. Different from the closed model of other Internet TV manufacturers, Xiaomi is a real content ecosystem created together with all video websites."

Lei Jun's words are very specific, and anyone who understands knows which "friendly competitor" he is talking to. In fact, Xiaomi has repeatedly made it clear earlier that as a hardware manufacturer it does not produce TV content, but only makes up for the lack of content by introducing it.

Director Feng Xiaogang said: "Leave professional matters to professionals."

As we all know, Xiaomi is different from other Internet TV manufacturers. It is not a video website, a licensee, or a cable TV operator. When other competitors frequently use the slogan "Our advantage is content" when launching TVs, the content shortcoming is often considered a hardware manufacturer's weakness. Xiaomi spent more than half a year and $1 billion to quickly fill the gap and hire professionals to create content. This deal is a good deal no matter how you calculate it.

So, what principles does Xiaomi follow in introducing video content? Xiaomi co-founder Wang Chuan was interviewed about this and he said, "Currently, any content that has copyright and complies with the regulations can be introduced."

On the other hand, Xiaomi's rapid rise in the TV industry has also put a lot of pressure on other manufacturers. An industry insider told us, "Xiaomi did a really good job of keeping the press conference secret. At first everyone thought it was going to release a water purifier, which really caught many people off guard."

At present, the smart TV industry has shifted from a competition mechanism that relied solely on hardware and price to a deeper ecological competition. Video content has received more and more attention from smart TV manufacturers and has become a necessary path in the desperate fight in the smart TV market.

Attachment: Part of Lei Jun’s PPT content at the Hainabaichuan press conference

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.