Is the US Ready for an All-Chinese Content Streaming Service?

[beijingwalker]

Is the US Ready for an All-Chinese Content Streaming Service?

• BY ANDREW LITTLE
• FEB 14, 2019

New streaming platform BAMBU is hoping to bring Chinese movies and TV shows to US audiences.

For the non-Chinese speaker, gaining access to current, high-quality Chinese TV and film outside of China requires determination. Of course Netflix has a small selection of newer, sometimes binge-worthy Chinese TV shows and films, but the hoops one has to jump through to access a wider array of content (downloading the proper extensions, brushing up on your language skills) make it inconvenient at best.

New Chinese content streaming service BAMBU hopes to make it effortless, in the US at least, starting in mid-2019. The service will offer content “previously unavailable to American audiences” that caters specifically to open-minded Millennial and Gen-X viewers. Is that you? I’m willing to bet… yes.

Cinedigm, the company behind the service, has already obtained hundreds of hours of content through licensing deals with Chinese entertainment industry heavyweights such as Youku, CCTV, Starrise Media and China Lion. Given what they’ve achieved so far, Chris McGurk, the Chairman, and CEO of Cinedigm, told RADII he’s “very bullish” on the prospects of the platform’s success. Read the full story on RADII.

http://chinafilminsider.com/is-the-us-ready-for-an-all-chinese-content-streaming-service/

 

[beijingwalker]

The Story of Yanxi Palace has topped Google's TV searches.

DECEMBER 2018

The most googled television show of 2018 was a period drama from China, despite the search engine being blocked there.

Google's annual search trend ratings found its users were more interested in China's Story of Yanxi Palace than any other international program.

The show has been a runaway success for iQiyi, a Chinese streaming service, where it has been viewed more than 15 billion times.

Set in 1700s China, it follows protagonist Wei Yingluo as she seeks revenge for the death of her sister.

Actress Wu Jinyan plays the lead, who enters a royal palace and rises in the ranks of the concubines.

The 70-episode epic, built around powers struggles and palace intrigue, has drawn comparisons to HBO's Game of Thrones.

According to Google, The Story of Yanxi Palace was searched extensively across Asia in countries like Singapore and Malaysia, but also from within China itself.

Lawrence Wong, an actor from the series, told the ABC in September the production value of the show played a big part in its popularity.

"Our script was really good. Our costumes were really good. The set was really good. The lighting, the actors, everything was on point," Mr Wong said.

"I think period dramas are particularly popular in China because they retain a certain culture of China that a lot of Chinese can relate to.

"Not just Chinese from China, but Chinese people all over the world. When they watch a period drama or period movie immediately they feel like, 'oh that's my culture'. It's something that all of us take pride in."

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/a-chinese-drama-is-the-most-googled-tv-show-of-2018

 

[oprih]

The Chinese films and series are way superior than the american ones that are always about sex, drugs or childish superheroes and their funny costumes trying to save planet earth.