"Joy of Life 2" pampers fans, adding more food without reducing the configuration

This article deeply analyzes the broadcast strategy of "Joy of Life 2" and its impact on the membership services of long video platforms, explores how to carry out content innovation and commercial realization while protecting user interests, and guides readers to understand the operating logic of long video platforms. I hope it will be helpful to you.

Leading by a huge margin, the show was a slam dunk as soon as it was aired.

After five years, "Joy of Life 2" returned again, setting new historical records in terms of number of reservations, popularity, and volume of views.

Lighthouse data shows that from May 16 to 21, the market share of "Joy of Life 2" soared from 10% to 38%, far ahead of the second place of 6.86%, and the cumulative number of views has exceeded 400 million.

With the plot so exciting, die-hard fans of "Joy of Life 2" took the initiative to promote it on social media, "Strongly recommend it, the must-see drama and meme king of 2024!"

"After watching six episodes of Joy of Life 2, I feel that the VIP membership fee for the whole year is worth it!"

There are also viewers who can’t wait, in order to unlock the latest plot, “I turned on SVIP in the middle of the night to catch up with “Joy of Life 2”, it still looks so exciting! ”

"It's indeed the best drama of the bunch. Our drama group has never had a drama worthy of SVIP status on any platform, but today they are actually seriously discussing whether or not to start one."

However, while the word of mouth has exploded, some controversies have also emerged from time to time. For example, some VIP viewers are puzzled by the fact that SVIP members can catch up on an episode in advance.

In fact, the VIP’s inherent rights and benefits - unlocking five episodes in advance compared to ordinary users - have not been reduced. Tencent Video just "adds a dish" to SVIP - watching one episode in advance compared to VIP .

At present, whether it is Netflix abroad or iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video in China, membership services are the top major source of income.

Therefore, in addition to providing high-quality premium content like "Joy of Life 2", how to accurately meet the different needs of different users with differentiated membership services is the primary issue that long video platforms must solve .

"There are hundreds of millions of users on China's long-form video platforms. It is unrealistic and unscientific for the platforms to simply provide a one-size-fits-all service," a film and television industry insider told Financial Story Collection. "It's the same at home and abroad. Netflix also has basic packages, standard packages, premium family packages, etc., as well as advertising subscribers. Giving users more choices is definitely a good thing!"

1. VIP "no reduction in configuration", SVIP "additional dishes"

In order to catch up with the updates as quickly as possible, renewing VIP and SVIP membership has become a standard for die-hard fans of "Joy of Life 2".

According to the broadcast rhythm of "Joy of Life 2", ordinary users can watch one episode per day, VIP members can watch two episodes per day from Monday to Friday, and one episode per day on Saturdays and Sundays.

In addition to their existing rights, SVIP members also have the added benefit of unlocking one episode in advance.

Judging from the above rights distribution, Tencent Video has not actually reduced the rights of VIP members, but only provided SVIP members with extra "dishes" .

In this regard, Qu Hongtan, a lawyer who has long been concerned about the entertainment industry, believes that "the development of the long video industry needs to embrace change, so the platform needs to adjust service content and update service models in a timely manner based on user needs, commercial monetization, industry development, technological innovation and other factors. This is reasonable, necessary and realistically justified."

"As long as the VIP membership rights stipulated in the contract are not unfairly and substantially reduced, the platform can launch SVIP services that are separate from them," >> Qu Hongtan told "Financial Story Collection".

Just as an airplane has first class, business class and economy class, economy class passengers can pay extra to upgrade to business class, but this does not harm the interests of other economy class passengers.

The original intention of dividing differentiated rights and interests is because "video platforms must meet the public's needs for diverse viewing."

According to the China Online Audiovisual Development Research Report (2024), by December 2023, the number of online audiovisual users in China will reach 1.074 billion. In the first quarter of this year, the number of paid members of Tencent Video has reached 116 million.

There are hundreds of millions of long video users, and their viewing demands and consumption capabilities vary greatly, making it difficult to find a "one-size-fits-all" solution that satisfies all users.

The multi-level service system provided by the platform is upward and downward compatible to meet the demands of different users .

Price-sensitive users can enjoy free content at the cost of not skipping ads;.

Time-sensitive users are willing to pay for content and become VIP members, which allows them to skip some ads and unlock episodes in advance.

Loyal fans or avid drama fans are willing to pay extra to unlock the plot in advance, pay to attend preview screenings, etc.

Xingyue, who works in a big company and has a 996 work schedule, is a TV drama fan and she doesn't have time to watch TV dramas on a daily basis.

But as an old fan of Joy of Life, she immediately purchased an SVIP membership, "mainly because I want to watch it on a big screen. The mobile phone and computer screens are too small and it's not satisfying enough!"

Moreover, "I compared the prices. The continuous monthly subscription price for Tencent Video SVIP membership, which is applicable to TV/mobile phones/computers/Pads, is 19 yuan for new users, while the continuous monthly subscription price for VIP membership, which is applicable to computers/Pads, is 15 yuan per month for new users. So I used a new account to open SVIP. The difference of four yuan allows me to unlock so many episodes in advance. Tencent's pricing is very conscientious and cost-effective."

There are also drama fans who must watch every drama. Dafang, who works in a public institution in a county town in Hebei Province, has a leisurely job, but he spends three or four hours watching dramas almost every day.

Although she likes Joy of Life 2 very much, she feels there is no need to open an SVIP membership just to watch one more episode. "Compared with ordinary members, VIP members can unlock five episodes in advance, which I think is enough. There are other dramas to catch up with, and my schedule is full. I'm not in a hurry for that episode," she said with a smile.

As for the "wait and see" party who are unwilling to pay, "It's such a good plot, I can't bear to finish it all in one go. It would be great if I could watch one episode for free every day, which would be a long-term benefit without having to spend any money," Yinhe, a senior student born in the 2000s, told Financial Story Collection.

Since users’ demands are so diverse, platforms naturally have to meet their needs and provide multi-level services with different rights and interests. This is also a common practice of overseas giants such as Netflix and Disney .

In November 2022, Netflix launched its first ad-supported membership service, which is much cheaper than standard membership at the cost of having to watch ads. Today, its ad-supported membership has more than 40 million monthly active users worldwide. Netflix, which is testing its gaming business, may also launch a premium membership service with additional gaming benefits in the future.

Not only Netflix, in March 2022, Disney also launched a low-priced "Disney+" membership service, which will include advertising inserts.

This multi-level service system actually lowers the minimum threshold for watching plays .

From a horizontal comparison, unlike overseas giants such as Netflix, which can raise prices at will, domestic iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video are extremely cautious and restrained in raising membership fees. Taking Tencent Video VIP membership as an example, the monthly subscription price for new members is 15 yuan for the first three months, and the monthly VIP price is 30 yuan, both of which are much lower than Netflix's standard membership price of US$15.49 per month.

2. Reasonable monetization can feed back the supply of high-quality dramas

The huge lead of "Joy of Life 2" is not only due to the deep reputation and overwhelming popularity accumulated in the first season, but ultimately, it is because of its online quality that it won the audience's praise.

The tastes and aesthetics of mainstream audiences continue to upgrade, and the first common value demand is to watch more high-quality dramas. As Xingyue said, "I would rather watch a good drama than a basket of bad dramas."

The data from Lighthouse Professional Edition also confirms this trend. In 2023, the number of effective TV series in the online drama market was 294, a decrease of 10.6% from 2022, but the total broadcast index of feature films in the market grew by 7.7% against the trend.

As for high-quality dramas, whether it is the purchase of popular IPs, the recruitment of talented actors, the lighting texture comparable to movies, the exquisite costumes and props, the immersive scene construction, etc., all rely on high investment and large-scale production .

Take "Game of Thrones" as an example. From the first season to the eighth season, the production cost of a single episode soared from US$6 million to US$15 million.

Although "Joy of Life 2" has not announced the specific production cost, it is expected that the overall investment is also very high.

Looking through the financial reports of long videos, it is not difficult to find that long videos are a genuine capital-intensive industry, and content costs are generally high .

For example, Netflix's content costs will reach 13 billion US dollars in 2023, and its executives even boasted at the financial report meeting that it is expected to increase to 17 billion US dollars in 2024.

Looking at the domestic market, iQiyi's revenue in 2023 was 31.9 billion yuan, and content costs were as high as 16.2 billion yuan, accounting for more than half.

In summary, only when long video platforms explore a scientific and reasonable commercial monetization model and establish a normal and healthy business ecology can they maintain high-pressure, long-term content investment and continue to produce more and more popular works, such as "The Long Season", "Fanghua", "Joy of Life" and other excellent dramas.

At present, both Netflix and Tencent Video are exploring the parallel monetization paths of "membership payment + advertising monetization".

In China, iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video used to dominate advertising revenue, but due to their single monetization model, they have been in huge losses for a long time.

As long-video users' consumption upgrades, their willingness to pay has become stronger and they are willing to pay for high-quality dramas. iQiyi, Youku and Tencent's membership services have caught up and gradually become the largest source of revenue.

In order not to damage the user experience, long video platforms are also trying to balance advertising revenue and membership experience .

Taking "Joy of Life 2" as an example, in addition to a small number of traditional hard advertisements, it also tried native advertisements that were highly consistent with the plot and harmoniously integrated with the world view. For example, a supermarket opened in the east of Kyoto, named "JD Supermarket", has jokes and humorous points. While completing the product promotion, it can also make the audience laugh.

Under a healthy business ecology, a positive cycle of coordination between supply and demand is formed. The higher the quality of the series, the better the audience reputation and usually the stronger the commercial value, ultimately achieving the simultaneous satisfaction of user value and commercial value .

More and more viewers are gradually understanding the development logic of this industry. For example, a Weibo user from Zhejiang directly said, "Although I have to watch advertisements, I never mind. After all, you can only make sequels if you make money. So, can the third part be filmed earlier?!"

3. User interests and platform innovation should not be chosen one or the other

Although it is not easy for long video platforms to balance content quality, commercial monetization, and user experience at the same time.

But in the final analysis, at present, the supply of content is extremely abundant. In addition to the intensified internal competition of long video platforms such as iQiyi, Youku, Tencent Video and Mango TV, short videos and live broadcasts are also diverting and competing for people. After the number of members of long video platforms exceeded 100 million, the quality of content has improved and the quantity has decreased, entering the stage of stock competition.

According to Yunhe data, from 2021 to 2023, the effective playback of member content of dramas, variety shows and films on the entire network increased by 34%; in 2023, the effective playback of member content accounted for as much as 53% of the effective playback of dramas on the entire network.

The above data show that the playback performance of platform content is increasingly dependent on core members. If the platform does not provide good content and user services, members can leave at any time.

Therefore, only users are the real "Party A" of the platform .

The goal of maintaining high-quality content production through advertising monetization and membership fees is to meet users' content demands and achieve long-term development of the platform.

"Fang Hua", which has a Douban score of 8.7, is a model of win-win situation.

First, users are willing to pay for quality. According to Tencent's financial report, popular self-produced TV series and animations such as "Fanhua" have driven the number of long-form video paying members to increase by 8% year-on-year to 116 million; second, the platforms have benefited simultaneously. In addition to stimulating member payments, "Fanhua" has also become one of the annual dramas with the highest performance in online hard advertising data.

Under the premise of putting user interests first, platforms should also be allowed to innovate in content creation and commercial monetization .

On the contrary, if we have to choose between user rights and platform revenues, and if we do not allow platforms to explore and innovate monetization models under the premise of legality and rationality, the "rotten lemon effect" in economics will inevitably occur - good content will become less and less, and junk content will dominate the mainstream. After all, more money may not necessarily produce better content, but less money will definitely not allow for the sustained production of good content.

Facing the users, the real “Party A”, the differentiated services provided by long video platforms, from free viewing to VIP and then SVIP, are also an improvement, just like upgrading from a canteen to a buffet restaurant, from a fixed menu of four dishes and one soup to a wide variety of local specialties, giving the right to choose and make decisions to users, who can use them on demand, is actually out of respect for consumer sovereignty.

From a horizontal perspective, differentiated operations for members and users are also spread across all industries.

For example, airlines provide different services such as silver cards, gold cards, platinum cards, and diamond cards based on membership levels. Disney and Universal Studios have launched various fast-pass tickets, etc. As for which service to choose, it is entirely determined by the consumers.

From a legal perspective, Qu Hongtan also gave professional advice, "In the relationship between consumer rights protection and Internet product innovation, the interests of both parties should be balanced according to the principle of proportionality. We must not only effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, but also respect and moderately tolerate Internet product innovation."

Therefore, for long video platforms, the primary value of protecting user interests cannot change, and the exploration of content innovation, differentiated services, and diversified monetization cannot stop. (Xingyue, Dafang, and Yinhe are pseudonyms in this article).

Written by Wan Tiannan; Edited by Chen Jiying

Source: Financial Stories Collection (ID: cjgshui)