Foreign dramas are restricted: self-produced dramas and TV series have new opportunities

After the removal of four popular American TV series including "The Big Bang Theory" in April this year, domestic video websites may have ushered in a new stage of "great pressure". Recently, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television reiterated the control notice for video websites, requiring that foreign TV series and movies used for Internet and other information networks must obtain a "Film Screening Permit" or "TV Series Distribution Permit" in accordance with the law, otherwise they shall not be broadcast online. According to the full text of the notice disclosed by the media, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television also restricted the purchase ratio of foreign TV series: the total amount of foreign TV series and movies introduced and broadcast by a single website in a year shall not exceed 30% of the total amount of domestic TV series and movies purchased and broadcast by the website in the previous year.

For fans of American and Korean dramas, this is probably bad news: it means that there will be fewer choices of foreign dramas on domestic video websites in the future. But we also noticed that the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television specifically mentioned the ratio of foreign dramas to domestic film and television dramas introduced by video websites. Sensitive website operators and content producers will capture the support and encouragement for domestic content between the lines. From this perspective, participating in the content production process and tracing back to the upstream of the production chain will be the only way for video websites to improve their competitiveness in an increasingly standardized market environment; at the same time, this is also a new benefit brought to the domestic film and television industry by the new round of "tightening curse".

The restrictions on foreign dramas have affected the video sites

Leaning on the bed with a computer or mobile phone in hand, turning on an American or Korean drama to kill time, this is probably the favorite pastime for fans of foreign dramas. In recent years, the foreign films and TV series available on domestic video websites can really be considered "massive". According to statistics, in 2013, with the permission of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, TV stations at all levels across the country introduced a total of 54 foreign TV series for broadcast on TV channels, including 9 reruns. In that year, Youku alone launched as many as 121 new foreign dramas.

The number of foreign dramas broadcast on TV channels is very limited, and this part of the audience is mainly concentrated on the Internet. In order to attract the attention of netizens, many websites have also bought out the dissemination rights of some "key dramas" on the Internet in China at a relatively high price, adopting an "exclusive broadcast strategy" to attract viewers. The popular foreign dramas "My Love from the Star", "Sherlock", and "The Big Bang Theory" which was removed from the shelves in April this year have brought attention to video websites that cannot be underestimated. This time, the General Administration reiterated the control policy, and foreign dramas were restricted in both quantity and broadcast procedures, which can also be seen in the loss of traffic to video websites.

"Buying dramas" is not so good. The development of self-made dramas will become a consensus

Foreign dramas have many fans and great market demand, so video companies naturally spare no effort in introducing them. Fierce market competition has kept copyright prices high. A senior executive of a radio and television organization once revealed that the price of a popular Korean drama can reach 200,000 to 300,000 US dollars per episode. Although the dramas purchased at high prices are popular, they have not brought any actual economic benefits to video websites. The industry status of buying at high prices and selling at low prices has kept video websites in a dilemma of not making ends meet. At the same time, simply playing the role of a simple content carrier is not conducive to the brand building and long-term development of video websites themselves. How to solve the problem? Only self-control.

In recent years, major video websites have vigorously developed self-produced dramas, and they are going further and further on this road. Although their initial purpose may be just to save costs, they have cultivated a good audience base and established many brand benchmarks. For example, "Dapeng V Bar V" and "\L Silk Men" produced by Sohu, and "Xiao Shuo" produced by Youku Tudou have achieved good results. 2014 is defined by many video websites as a key year for the focus to shift to self-production, such as Mango TV and Hunan Satellite TV's 1 billion self-produced drama plan; Youku Tudou and Alibaba have formed an alliance to invest 300 million yuan in 2014 to develop online self-produced content; Sohu Video regards 2014 as the "first year of self-production", and the investment in self-produced content will be twice that of 2013; Tencent Video is expected to produce 500 episodes of high-quality self-produced dramas and more than 30 self-produced programs.

The tightening of policies on foreign dramas has set a threshold for foreign film and television resources to enter the Chinese Internet. However, from another perspective, it has also cooled down the bidding craze for content on Chinese video websites, and turned to cooperating with excellent production companies to independently produce high-quality program content. In addition to excellent domestic film and television dramas, there is no shortage of excellent self-made content on video websites. A number of self-made dramas represented by Sohu Video's "\L丝男人" have been sold overseas and broadcast on foreign Internet. The "active attack" of video websites demonstrates the cultural confidence of this industry: original works can not only take up the "main beam", but also travel across the ocean to convey Chinese culture and values. In the process of video websites growing up in the field of self-made, the audience's affirmation has supported this confidence, and the policies of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television have given this confidence a new boost. In the future, self-made content may be pushed to an unprecedented height, and will soon enter a peak stage of competing for teams, funds, and creativity. Increasing investment in self-made dramas has become a consensus among major video websites.

The difference between video websites and TV programs is weakening, and high-definition large screens are ushering in a good opportunity for development

The General Administration has also made clear provisions on the approval process for overseas dramas in the notice it has just issued. Compared with the simple procedures for video websites to introduce overseas dramas before, the approval process after the implementation of the new regulations is more cumbersome and time-consuming. The "synchronous update" that once watched "My Love from the Star" with Korean audiences will be difficult to achieve. In fact, the General Administration has always had a strict project establishment and approval system for the introduction and broadcast of overseas film and television dramas, but the focus of previous control was on TV stations. At the specific implementation level, video websites have a large degree of autonomy. The promulgation of the new regulations means that video websites and TV stations have begun to follow the same constraints in the introduction of overseas film and television dramas, and will treat them equally without favoring one over the other.

Under the dual influence of the suppression of video websites in introducing foreign dramas and the unattainable "simultaneous update", the differentiation between PC and mobile terminals and TV terminals in program content will gradually decrease. Users who have been taken away by PC and mobile terminals due to content differentiation in recent years may return to the living room. Relying on the advantages of living room culture and large-screen high definition, the TV terminal is very likely to usher in new opportunities for the development of Internet TV.

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.