China’s film and TV industry, which has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, has received a new lease of life after being integrated with the Internet industry.

People watch a film in a movie theater in Beijing on July 24, 2020. (People’s Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)

Experts point out that as epidemic prevention and control becomes the norm and cinemas gradually resume business, Internet giants have become more integrated with the film and TV industry. The pattern of “Internet + Film & TV” will further promote the development and progress of each link in the film and TV chain industry.

Data shows that consumption of online videos has grown rapidly in the first quarter of this year. In February alone, the average netizen watched online videos nearly 80 times per month on a single device, an increase of 23.2 times over the same period in 2019. The average daily usage time exceeded 2 hours, with a year-on-year increase of 21.2 minutes.

Since March, the frequency of online video usage has continued to increase. In addition, 415 online movies were released in the first quarter of this year, up 22 percent year on year. Several theatrical films are also making their premier on online platforms.

Insiders pointed out that Internet enterprises generally have abundant funds at their disposal, while their broadcast platforms are not restricted by the traditional scale of channels and are less affected by external factors. When Internet enterprises extend their business into the film & TV industry, to some degree, they can carry out expansion at a low cost and increase customer loyalty.

Since this year, a number of short video platforms have been accelerating the expansion of their businesses into the "long video" field. During the Spring Festival, New Year movies premiered online on platforms such as Douyin and Toutiao.

Furthermore, in March, a company affiliated to Douyin was established, with one of its main business operations being film and TV production and distribution.