Online portal screens movies earlier, cheaper
Chinese film fans now have a "cheaper option" to watch online movies that are screened almost simultaneously as at cinemas. The online versions each cost about oneeighth of a cinema ticket price.
360kan.com, a video portal affiliated with Qihoo 360 Technology Co, initiated a "zero window period" program for movie viewing this month, Beijing Business Today reported.
The window period expression is often used as a medical term, but here it refers to the time between movies being shown at cinemas and being available to watch online. Usually, movie producers need the period to guarantee their box office income.
In the pilot project, the video portal provided the film Triumph in the Skies, an adaptation of Hong Kong's hit TV series of the same name, only 15 days after it started showing in Chinese cinemas. The website charged each viewer 10 yuan ($1.60) to watch the film.
Famous actors in the film include Francis Ng, Chilam Cheung and Louis Koo.
The initiative would help the video portal increase its market share in a short time and also may result in higher Internet copyright fees of blockbuster movies when more video websites follow its suit in the future, industry insiders said.
Chen Shaofeng, deputy dean of the Institute for Cultural and Creative Industries at Peking University, said a shorter window period could help video websites gain popularity and give a major boost to the video-on-demand market in China.
Qiu Mingchun, president of the Beijing Shengzhan Film Company, said film buffs who regard visual effects highly would still choose cinemas as their first option, so shortening the release period for the Internet would not have a big impact on the ticket revenue of 3D or IMAX films.
However, it would have some impact on 2D films. To make up any loss, producers would probably increase the licensing fees for online broadcasts, he added.
Statistics from the China Internet Network Information Center show that China's netizen population reached 649 million by the end of 2014.
Major online players such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent are investing billions of dollars in boosting their presence in the entertainment sector..
haonan@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily 03/18/2015 page17)
