Sohu wins 2014 World Cup video rights, portal + video creates differentiated services

On May 7, Sohu announced a partnership with CNTV, obtaining video-on-demand and related video rights for all matches of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, and will provide users with event videos and various self-made programs for free.

     It is understood that Sohu will use the portal + video reporting format to report on this World Cup. This is a differentiated service strategy that Sohu will use while keeping the content the same.

     For any portal or video website, the objects of its service are nothing more than users and advertisers. The differentiated service created by Sohu this time is also aimed at users and advertisers.

For users: portal + video full coverage

     Initially, for major sporting events like the World Cup, viewers shifted their viewing channels from TV sets to live broadcasts on portal websites and text messages, then to videos on portal websites, and later to social networking sites such as Weibo. The viewing channels of the World Cup represent different eras of Internet development. Today, with the advent of the mobile Internet, mobile videos and mobile news clients will become important channels for the dissemination of the World Cup.

     As Zhang Chaoyang said, "If the opportunities in the last World Cup belonged to Weibo, then the opportunities in this World Cup belong to video and mobile."

     With the arrival of the World Cup, many video websites and portals are ready to compete for the "big cake", not just Sohu. It is understood that iQiyi has obtained the broadcasting rights for the 2014 World Cup; Youku Tudou also said that it will fully cooperate with the coverage of the World Cup.

     How to provide differentiated services for the same content? This requires leveraging Sohu's advantages as a portal and independent video business.

     It is understood that Sohu will launch a series of self-made programs about the World Cup by virtue of its advantages in self-made content, such as "World Cup Special Report", which includes a series of self-made columns such as "Superstar Dialogue", and at the same time, Sohu will also launch key planning and special topics such as "Sohu World Cup 24-hour Live Broadcast".

     In addition, Sohu will also launch various World Cup commentaries, football babe specials, host commentaries and other self-made programs for different audiences and with different styles.

    "We treat it as a live TV program. Now we have one episode a week, then two or three episodes a week, and finally one episode a day. Each episode is several hours long, just like a live TV show," said Zhang Chaoyang.

     These contents will be fully covered in all Sohu products, including Sohu.com, Sohu Video, Sohu Micro Portal, Sohu News Client, Sohu Mobile and Sogou Input Method.

     In addition, the self-media platform is also a promotion platform that Sohu attaches importance to this time.

     For large-scale sports events, the audience not only wants to watch videos but also hopes to see some text materials and information. This cannot be achieved by video websites alone, nor by simple portal websites. The organic combination of graphic reports and videos is the viewing method that users expect.

For advertisers: Accurate delivery based on big data

     For advertisers, multi-screen and mobile are nothing new, and many companies can do it. How to get advertisers to place their ads on Sohu requires Sohu to come up with novel solutions and demonstrate its strength.

     It is understood that Sohu has just established a big data platform that can track and understand user behavior, learn user behavior, and select content suitable for users. Understanding users and pushing relevant advertisements based on user habits is extremely attractive to advertisers.

     According to the portal + video model proposed by Sohu, advertisers can not only place ads on Sohu Video, but also on other World Cup topics. In this way, reasonable plans can be made according to advertisers' requirements for marketing effects. For example, how much should be placed in the iron film ads in the video? How much should be placed in the World Cup self-made programs? Users who are watching the World Cup are also watching a certain TV series or movie. Do they need to place ads in the TV series or movie? Through big data, these can give advertisers clear answers.

     Of course, the premise for achieving these is a large amount of traffic. It is understood that the traffic generated by the Sohu homepage on PC plus the tens of millions of independent visitors to the micro-portal and the tens of millions of users of the news client and mobile Sohu.com is huge. This platform itself has great value to advertisers.

     No matter when or what industry, whoever can win over users and advertisers will have the last laugh.

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.