iQiyi to buy and produce 40 shows next year

Chinese online video site iQiyi has revealed it will purchase or produce around 40 shows next year for its subscription on-demand service.

The Baidu-owned platform’s investment will account for around 50% of its full year 2016 budget.

The firm’s in-house production Notes of Tomb Raiders has performed well, while the recently-launched Shu Shan Zhan Ji debuted in SVOD before its linear TV launch.

iQiyi has a movie library of more than 6,000 titles, 2,500 of which are Hollywood films. It has deals with Paramount Pictures and a long-term agreement with Lionsgate Entertainment.

“Through our efforts over the years, iQiyi has grown to become China’s leading online streaming website with the largest online paid subscriber base and the biggest collection of premium content,” said Xianghua Yang, iQIYI senior vice president.

“We are confident that subscription revenue will become a major revenue source for iQiyi, and we will continue to invest to provide the best premium content and user experience for our paid subscribers.”