1. A Chinese television producer's suspense drama pitch to Netflix two years ago was rejected after executives questioned whether the plot pushed creative boundaries, whether cultural themes would resonate, and whether production values met global standards. With abundant similar content available, they saw no reason to take a chance on a mainland title, and the producer left empty-handed [para. 1][para. 2][para. 3].
2. That skepticism is eroding. In early September, Netflix disclosed that The Early Spring, a workplace romance set at a Beijing advertising agency starring Jing Boran and Sun Qian, climbed to No. 2 on its weekly global chart for non-English television. It entered the top 10 in 22 countries, including Indonesia, Brazil and Qatar, and topped charts in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam — the highest ranking ever achieved by a mainland Chinese drama on the platform [para. 4][para. 5].
3. The breakthrough underscores a structural transformation. Pinched by a cooling domestic market, shrinking margins, and competition from low-budget micro-dramas, Chinese studios are overhauling their international playbooks — pursuing direct streaming licensing, demanding higher fees, and investing in localized foreign remakes rather than dumping catalog titles onto diaspora networks [para. 6].
4. For years, Chinese television struggled on mainstream international networks. During the domestic streaming boom a decade ago, overseas markets were an afterthought; distribution was outsourced to intermediaries who bought low-cost bundles and resold them to niche channels for Chinese-speaking audiences. Studios had little control over timing or viewership data, and some even distributed titles for free to build brand awareness [para. 7][para. 8][para. 9].
5. Mainstream breakthroughs were rare — the 2009 family drama A Beautiful Daughter-in-law Era, popular in the Middle East and Africa a decade later, was an exception. Regulators initially welcomed any foreign broadcast, then encouraged monetization, and now demand both financial returns and cross-border cultural influence, rendering legacy distribution channels obsolete [para. 10][para. 11].
6. Pricing disparities were glaring. Lu Yu of Linmon International noted Chinese episodes fetched only hundreds to a few thousand dollars abroad, while Hollywood actors collected residual checks for vintage series and South Korean dramas commanded per-episode licensing fees three to ten times higher [para. 12][para. 13].
7. As Tencent Video and iQiyi established regional footholds in Southeast Asia, producers began bypassing brokers to negotiate directly with global buyers. Top-tier contemporary dramas now command $60,000-$70,000 per episode; high-budget period pieces reach $120,000-$150,000. Yet wide disparities persist — Sunshine by My Side fetched only $35,000 per episode outside iQiyi's non-exclusive rights [para. 14][para. 15].
8. To move up the value chain, studios export formats. Linmon retained the underlying IP for its 2020 hit Nothing But Thirty, provided the script and production framework, co-invested locally, and secured back-end profit participation. In August 2025, the Bangkok adaptation debuted on Disney+, with a Vietnamese remake on VTV3 — all localized adaptations achieved profitability [para. 16][para. 17][para. 18][para. 19][para. 20].
9. Streaming platforms follow suit: iQiyi's Thai co-production The Boy Who Met Ghosts set ratings records on ONE31 [para. 21]. The overseas push is accelerated by domestic pressures — producer profit margins fell from 40% to 10-15%, and one flop can endanger cash flow [para. 24]. Overseas operations provide a buffer: iQiyi's international subscription revenue grew 40% year-on-year in Q2 2026, and Tencent Video, Netflix and iQiyi ranked as Thailand's top three streaming platforms in 2025 [para. 25].
10. Chinese platforms are expanding beyond Asia: iQiyi's subscription revenue surged 215% in Brazil and 150% in Mexico [para. 26]. For Lu, pure content licensing is only an opening phase — the long-term goal is producing local-language programming in overseas markets to build strategic positions before international competitors entrench themselves [para. 27].
AI generated, for reference only
Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook
Sign in with 财新