GBA2 | GBAFOCUS Friday, May 29, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY GBA3

I grew up in the golden era of Data Journalism Hong Kong TV drama, of ‘Four Let the facts speak Heavenly Kings’ — Andy Lau Pandemic shutdown reclaims family Tak-wah, Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, Our Data Journalism reports map the options for the community to resolve its challenges with consensus. Jacky Cheung Hok-yau and We analyze data from governments, industries, corporations, scholars, Leon Lai Ming. Hong Kong has think tanks and NGOs. a mature portfolio, track record, We integrate the insights and policy prescriptions from domain experts. and sophisticated techniques time for workaholics in drama creation. The Chinese mainland is versatile in various Known for its frenetic pace of work and two-career couples, Hong Kong has genres of drama. We can learn few residents with the luxury of free time for leisure entertainment. They are from each other.” simply too exhausted when they get home. But COVID-19 forced a halt to that Huang Xiaoming, mainland actor high-stress pace, at least for four months. There is more to life than work at the assive binge-watching of eight seconds — one second less than expense of family. We have discovered a whole spectrum of quality leisure web fl icks and TV shows has that of a goldfi sh. The study surveyed HK ranked 2nd globally in become the “new normal” as 2,000 participants and monitored the viewing beyond the staid TV dramas. Wang Yuke reports from Hong Kong. fixed broadband speed, April 2020 self-isolation keeps commu- brain activity of 112 respondents. Gao 198.46 Pnities indoors. Hong Kong residents Wentao, general manager of East China Unit: Mbps shrank their commutes and social inter- for Endata, which provides data analy- 176.70 Source: Speedtest.net actions from late January as schools sis for the entertainment industry, said 159.87 were shut, with the private sector and viewer attention spans have shrunk. 152.05 151.87 the civil service adopting work-from- Consumers “kill time” with short vid- home precautions. Home entertain- eos, 15 to 30 seconds each, on mobile ment consumption soared as a direct devices. consequence. More importantly, family Video streaming was already a grow- time was reclaimed. ing trend even before the enforced Live spectator sports, like soccer, home confi nement for the pandemic. rugby, and basketball, were also not The Omnicom Media Group Hong Kong Singapore Hong Kong Thailand Switzerland Romania available. Hong Kong viewers limited 2018 study registered OTT video ser- to formulaic family TV dramas, and vices’ weekly penetration rising from 33 almost no alternative local content, to 63 percent, and viewership from 2.6 Weekly penetration by digital platform in HK are fortunately blessed with excellent hours to 10.6 hours respectively, from videos, soundtracked by music clips and broadband, high digital speeds, and April 2016 to July 2019. April 2016 71% 12% 26% 4% uploaded for general viewing. TikTok was smartphones. Consumers can access the fourth-most downloaded app in Hong an abundance of web entertainment Not made in HK Kong, according to Hootsuite. It garners content from the Chinese mainland and Short-video and web dramas for local 800 million monthly active users glob- from international channels. residents originate largely from the Chi- ally — even larger than China’s biggest nese mainland, the United Kingdom, 93% streaming media platform, iQiyi — and OTT explodes on mobile web and the United States. There are few watched online videos. was downloaded 738 million times in Hong Kong’s ready access to foreign homegrown choices. “We’re far behind YouTube myTVSuper Viu Netflix 2019. “over-the-top” (OTT) video services the mainland in web drama creations,” June -July 2019 “Consumers access short videos at enlarge and diversify viewer options, said Alex Lee, lecturer in TV production 81% 44% 26% 23% lunch breaks, on bus or subway com- ranging across Netfl ix, YouTube, LeEco, at the Hong Kong Academy for Perform- OTT viewership in HK Source: Omnicom Media Group muting between home and o« ce, or on Fox Sports, BBC, NatGeo, and more. ing Arts. Growth of TV ratings their way to meet friends. … That’s when Powering the growth of OTT is Hong Annual co-produced web dramas with 50 views. In 2016, TVB launched a strategic TV dramas and animated programs. For they speed-consume several short videos Kong’s high-speed mobile internet pen- mainland partners hover at a paltry four 33% in HK 2020 partnership with iQiyi. The year after, their motion pictures, there will be no restriction for a laugh or to relax. It’s an easy way 63% Source: Nielson etration, forecast to reach 95 percent or so. Mainland-produced web dramas +44% co-production, Legal Mavericks, became on the percentage of Hong Kong creative to fi ll fragments of free time,” said Gao 35% Weekly 40 +43% by 2023. tallied over 150 in 2019. According to Lee, the fi rst drama series launched simultane- personnel and artists, or on mainland- of Endata. watched vlogs. penetration Netfl ix saw fi rst-time app downloads there are only two Hong Kong TV produc- ously on TVB and the mainland platform. related content. Even iQiyi, Tencent Video and Youku, accelerate in Hong Kong from Janu- tion and fi lm distribution companies for 30 The track record for joint production is However, Lee raises concerns about cen- the three mainland streaming giants with ary through March. Netfl ix aggregates online dramas — Media Asia, and Emper- mixed. There are a handful of successful sorship. That some categories of con- long-form video expertise, started short- popular TV shows, movies, anime, doc- or Entertainment Group. co-produced web dramas, including War tent remain unacceptable to mainland video content; iQiyi intends to target umentaries, and its own productions. Television Broadcasts (TVB), the domi- April 2016 June -July 2019 20 and Beauty, Forensic Heroes, Beyond the authorities deters actors and actresses third-, fourth- and fi fth-tier cities. It com- March downloads for Netfl ix in Hong nant local broadcaster, prefers to stick to +18% Realm of Conscience, and Line Walker, on both sides from collaborating. Lee menced its short-video content service in Kong roughly doubled what they were its traditional TV-drama service. “TVB amid a ton of fl ops. There isn’t the buzz thinks co-productions featuring wuxia, 2018, with new app Nadou. Vice-Presi- 10 in January, said Credit Suisse analyst started making TV drama serials from 2.2 +10% one would have expected, and no wild or martial arts, are a safer bet. Furious dent Geng Danhao admitted that iQiyi Douglas Mitchelson. Netflix’s global scratch in 1967, captivating local audienc- 13% enthusiasm for more, among the parties. action substitutes for narrative or rela- was a latecomer. Tencent in December used TikTok. Weekly time paid subscribers grew 15.77 million in es for decades. Despite the growth of OTT spent (hour) 0 Officials from the mainland and the tionship content without risk of con- was concluding a new round of invest- the fi rst quarter, two times higher than web dramas, TVB does not want to lose 10.6 Jan 2019 to Feb 2019 to Hong Kong Special Administrative troversy. ment into short-video app Kuaishou. the pre-pandemic projections. its edge on broadcast TV. It doubts its core Source: Globalwebindex, 2019Q3. Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Region signed a protocol in Novem- What are the elements vital to retain Local TV viewership saw a year- home audience will pay for web drama. Figures refer to the internet users ber under the Closer Economic Short video pioneers viewer interest? Prezi’s 2018 State of aged 16-64 in Hong Kong. All day Prime time on-year leap of 43 percent in Febru- TVB resists the temptation to swim with Partnership Arrangement on trade Mainland short-video providers TikTok Attention Report indicates a compel- ary, according to Nielsen Media. The the online-drama tide,” Lee said. Source: Omnicom Media Group in services. Restrictions on the and Kuaishou have taken o§ with great ling narrative combined with stimulat- Nielsen Media Index also recorded a While Shaw Brothers, which owned import of Hong Kong-produced content success. TikTok, or Douyin, launched in ing visuals and punchy dialogue, as suc- 99 percent surge in internet usage in TVB then, was pre-eminent in cinema into the mainland will be removed for 2016, allows users to create 15-second cess factors. Nine in 10 respondents said January and February for streaming and TV entertainment in the 1980s, TVB either a strong narrative or a captivating shows, online shopping, and gaming. appears to be languishing in recent years. % storyline is critical to audience engage- Broadcast content alone does not sat- Lee calls it “audience aesthetic fatigue.” 20 ment. isfy Hong Kong viewers: 93 percent of Due to stringent cost controls that dic- Devices to connect to the Internet activities in HK 2018 Internet penetration in HK internet users in Hong Kong watch vid- tate production, only specifi c artists can 16% Different business models eos online, according to the Hootsuite appear in prime-time slots, Lee said. Most 15% internet in HK 2019 Online social activities (e.g., WhatsApp, WeChat, Line, June - August TV stations make money from on-air 98.4% 79.9% 2019 report, which captures internet, TVB dramas feature only their contract 15 Facebook, Instagram, blogs, online forums) 2014 advertising and sales of air time to con- social media, mobile and e-commerce actors. Smartphone 99.3% tent providers. The longer the TV shows, behaviors. “To cut costs to the bone, scenes, props, 12% Watching online videos / listening to online music / radio 88.1% May - August the more cash for broadcasters. “A drama OTT video streaming is forecast to and costumes are recycled in episodes and Desktop 2015 84.9% series on TV could have 40 to 70 episodes 73.5% provide Hong Kong’s fastest revenue across di§ erent drama programs. You’re computer Reading news 85.8% of 45 minutes. Such lengthy dramas have 10 growth in entertainment spending, likely to see a male lead in one drama 8% April - July lost favor with young viewers impatient Using email 68.8% 87.5% according to PwC’s Global Entertain- aired at 8:30 pm, and see him again in a 6% Tablet 51.6% 2016 with dragged-out, dialogue-heavy sto- ment and Media Outlook 2019-23. OTT di§ erent drama at 9:30 pm. People suf- ries,” said mainland fi lm director Zhang Playing games (including downloading game files) 60.6% video in Hong Kong is set to increase fer visual fatigue. Also, the viewers get June - Sept Yibai. 5 Laptop 48.1% 89.4% at an 18.7 percent compound annual puzzled watching the same actor switch Shopping 37.9% 2017 Video-streaming businesses earn rev- growth rate (CAGR) from $170 million personas in a single night. It taxes their Proportion of TVB revenues enues mainly from user subscriptions, in 2018 to $400 million in 2023, beyond brain; the make-believe loses its magic.” Other June - Sept as well as advertising on the viewing 30.2% Using banking services / bill payment / finance transactions 35.9% 90.5% the global CAGR of 13.8 percent. OTT from the mainland devices* 2018 traffic. So if an online drama fails to media service is expected to overtake Co-production wanes 0 Reading books 18.9% maintain the audience’s interest because traditional TV and video by 2023, with Aware of the lucrative web drama 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 0 20 40 60 80 100% of weighty dialogue or drawn-out plots, April - July 91.7% on-demand, high-quality content. market, TVB began collaboration with Source: TVB *Include TV boxes, SmartTVs, printers, game consoles and digital cameras, etc. Source: Census and Statistics Department 2019 it’s a death sentence. “That’s why online Youku in 2013. Some Hong Kong-made Source: Census and Statistics Department Source: Census and Statistics Department dramas are shorter and more compact. Goldfish have more focus? original drama series could be streamed For a drama series, tempo and content A 2015 Consumer Insight study by to mainland audiences on Youku. The are the most important considerations,” Microsoft in Canada found the average TVB creation Line Walker broke viewer- Zhang said. “We don’t stretch the plots. human attention span has shrunk to ship records on Youku, with 240 million TikTok, Kuaishou dominated the We create what we desire. A web drama allows us more fl exibility, creativity, and short-video market on the mainland less restrictions than a drama for TV stations.” in 2018 Resonance of the viewers is an Web dramas with innovative and Source: Qianzhan; Hong Kong fi lm director and producer Cinda Securities TikTok & Others overriding factor for whether the avant-garde themes captivate Chen Tak-sum concedes that a successful Kuaishou drama or fi lm needs a universal theme 45.8% film or TV drama will make it. today’s viewers, as novelty always I embrace the idea 2016 1.9 easy to relate to, regardless of nationality 54.2% Telling human stories is an easy evokes curiosity. … Video-streaming of collaborating or culture. His award-winning Twenty path to strike a chord among all platforms should trust our Something (1994) was popular with Jap- with Hong Kong 2017 5.53 audiences.” (directors) instincts so that we can anese and Taiwan audiences; it depicts producers on the hedonistic Generation X in Lan Kwai Chen Tak-sum, Hong Kong filmmaker unleash our creativity to the full.” drama or film Fong. “The pub nightlife is also an inte- 2018 46.71 Zhang Qingfan, emerging director gral culture in Japan and Taiwan.” Audi- projects. We ences there could instantly identify with (millennials) have I apply the filmmaking techniques the characters, their attitudes, and the 2019E 100.65 de-stressing from their day jobs. witnessed the to drama creation, to make the Hong Kong audiences are really not Hong Kong golden movie era and its decline. web drama more engaging. handicapped by the lack of locally pro- 150.64 Hong Kong has done an exceptional job of 2020E duced OTT content. The whole universe An inherently long story can of news, documentaries, sports, movies, localizing different genres — even outperformed be condensed into a succinct, and TV dramas is available on their lap- 211.03 South Korea sometimes. Its workplace TV 2021E compact, and tightly plotted one, tops and mobile phones without restric- series is true to life and tells arresting stories.” tions or censorship — for now. Unit: Billion yuan Short-video market value on the mainland with strong visuals to tell the story.” Jing Xingzi, young screenwriter cooperating with iQiyi Source: iResearch; Cinda Securities estimates from 2016 to 2021 Zhang Yibai, mainland movie director Contact the writer at [email protected]