iQIYI to Further Enhance Paid Subscription Offering

Company announces plans to purchase and produce over 40 shows in 2016 for its paid subscribers

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Oct 14, 2015, 10:00 ET

BEIJING, Oct. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- iQIYI, an independently operated subsidiary of Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) and one of the largest Internet and mobile video service providers in China, today announced that it will enhance its paid subscription offering in 2016 by purchasing and producing over 40 new shows. The investment is expected to account for approximately 50% of iQIYI's overall budget for the full year 2016. iQIYI also announced that three famous Chinese stars, Yang Yang, Angelababy and Huang Bo will become image ambassadors for the iQIYI subscription business.

"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."

With over 500 million users and 5 million paid subscribers, iQIYI has built one of the largest movie libraries in China's online video industry featuring over 6,000 titles, 2,500 of which are major Hollywood studio productions. iQIYI recently announced an agreement with Paramount Pictures to acquire the Internet broadcast rights for 800 existing and future movies. The company also signed a long-term deal with Lionsgate for a number of high-profile feature films.

iQIYI's pioneering self-produced TV series "Notes of Tomb Raiders" was produced exclusively for online viewers and has enjoyed enormous popularity in China. The company adopted a new distribution model for its recently released show "Shu Shan Zhan Ji" to enable subscribers to access premium content prior to broadcast on television.

About iQIYI

Founded in April 2010, iQIYI is one of the largest Internet and mobile video service providers in China. An independently operated subsidiary of Baidu, the world's largest Chinese search engine, iQIYI is focused on providing Chinese users with the best possible online video experience, and has become an industry leader in developing innovative products and technologies.

SOURCE iQIYI