iQiyi was criticized for charging for the first episode of its new drama: the official apologized

February 26 news, how long have you not watched TV? Is it because of various restrictions on video memberships or other reasons?

Recently, some netizens complained about iQiyi again, saying that it started charging after the first episode of a new drama, and bluntly said that it was an ugly behavior.

Regarding the requirement to become a member to watch the first episode of a new series, @iQiyi and @电视爱你 posted a message saying that for series broadcast simultaneously on the platform and TV stations, the free episodes must be unlocked after the TV stations broadcast. The goal is to allow more viewers to watch the wonderful content of the series in different ways. We are deeply sorry for the viewing problems caused by this, and we will strive to give everyone a better experience.

Yesterday, the TV series "Love You" was broadcast on iQiyi, with a total of 4 episodes online. However, netizens discovered that all four episodes required iQiyi VIP to watch, so they complained that iQiyi was greedy.

This may be due to iQiyi's poor financial situation. In 2024, iQiyi's revenue will drop to 29.23 billion yuan (the same below), a decrease of 8% from 2023, while its revenue in 2023 will be 31.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10%.

In the absence of popular content, revenue from membership and online advertising services, the two major revenue pillars of iQiyi, both declined.

Specifically, membership service revenue was 17.76 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 13%, while in 2023 it was 20.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15%.

In addition, despite the growth of performance advertising business, it failed to offset the decline in brand advertising. In 2024, iQiyi's online advertising service revenue will be 5.71 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8%, while in 2023 it will be 6.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17%.