QuestMobile Releases 2019 Short-Video Report
QuestMobile have recently released their semi-annual report on the short-video industry. The report says that the short-video industry is thriving, with a total user count in China of over 820 million, and a year-on-year growth rate of over 32%. In fact, 7.2 out of 10 mobile Internet users are using short-video products.
In addition, the amount of time spent on short-video applications has increased by 8.6% year-on-year, totaling more than 22 hours per month. As a result of the proliferation and popularity of short-video apps, other entertainment mediums like online reading, mobile games and other online video formats have seen a reduction in the time spent on their content as short-videos occupy more and more of users’ time spent on their devices.
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The growth of the short-video industry continues, and while the penetration rate for these applications is around 72%, there were still 90 million new users in the month of June. The main demographic among these new users are those over 35 years old, and residents of third and fourth tier cities. The average number of short-video apps per capita has risen to 1.75, meaning most users will have more than one app to produce and consume viral content.
The leading applications in China’s short-video space are ByteDance-backed Douyin, Tencent-backed Kuaishou and Tencent’s own Weishi. The industry’s growth has slowed down from a relentless breakneck pace as a more healthy and sustainable development pattern arises.
The leading brands like Douyin and Kuaishou are looking to monetize their significant user bases and commercialize the time spent on their platforms through advertising, live streams, e-commerce and games. The peak viewing time on these platforms is from 8pm to 10pm every night, a period when users are home from work and looking for a source of entertainment.
The sustainable development of this industry should bode well for the multiple monetization efforts the companies are currently executing. The first phase of the short-video craze was all about user acquisition and creating a community. Now that the industry has reached a certain level of maturity, the monetization of these vast user bases will be the key focus for leading applications like Douyin, Kuaishou and Weishi.
