Netflix has just found a backdoor into China

BoJack Horseman has become a cult hit among China's younger web user, reports Tech in Asia

 

Netflix, which has not entered China, is doing something different instead: it has signed a licensing deal with iQiyi, a popular Chinese video portal, for its Netflix originals shows.

Robert Roy, Netflix’s vice president of content acquisition, announced the deal onstage Tuesday at an industry conference in Indonesia. “China is an important market for obvious reasons; it’s also a challenging market for obvious reasons,” said Roy, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

iQiyi is a spin-off from Baidu, China’s top search engine. The portal’s main rival is Alibaba-owned Youku.

“We are going to announce details in the near future,” an iQiyi spokesperson tells Tech in Asia (Updated one hour after publishing: added in this response).

One more barrier

Netflix is locked out of a solo entry to the Chinese market by protectionist policies on overseas media. Roy told the Hollywood Reporter that the US$63 billion company, which recently topped 100 million global subscribers, is still “trying to figure out over time” how to tackle the Chinese market on its own.

BoJack Horseman has become a cult hit among China’s younger web users despite it not being broadcast in the country. It's animated anti-hero is frequently memed in translated screenshots.

Even with the licensing deal, a further barrier remains. All overseas TV shows need individual approval for streaming in China – as do movies – and there’s a strict quota so as to boost the local TV industry and minimise foreign influence on youngsters.
This is an excerpt from the article published on Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.