Cashing in

To achieve the goal, Tencent has been making popular series and purchasing the copyright of expensive television dramas to be exclusively streamed on its video platform.

On Sunday, Tencent Video, the streaming subsidiary of Tencent, announced its paid subscriptions had reached 62.59 million as of Feb 28, enhancing its status as the largest video site in China.

According to industry researcher Vlinkage, Tencent Video broadcast 80 percent of the most popular 20 television series online in 2017, topping the charts in this field.

And the user number of video-streaming sites reached 565 million, or 75.2 percent of China's total netizen population by July, China Netcasting Services Association says in its latest report.

The numbers show that the Chinese have become used to paying for online series, music, novels and animation, says Sun.