Netflix gets its shows into China through iQiyi licensing deal
But it’s still not full access to the country's streaming market.
While Netflix has dominated much of the streaming content market, it's been blocked by regulators in a major region: China. Having previously licensed content to LeEco (which is currently dealing with its own problems) as far back as 2014, the company has now found a new stopgap method to get its material into the country by way of Beijing-based video service iQiyi, which is a subsidiary of Baidu.
Obviously, this isn't the unfettered broadcasting access that Netflix would prefer, but it allows them to continue distributing content into the region. This will grow awareness of the streaming service's unique content and brand, a Netflix vice president told The Hollywood Reporter.
Netflix didn't offer any further details, like what content would be distributed through iQiyi or when it would be available. The company expanded into East Asia in 2015, but despite its efforts, strict regulation has kept it and other content providers like Amazon from expanding into China. Licensing content through subscriber-based distributors is a viable alternative, but iQiyi faces stern competition in the streaming content market from Tencent Video and the Alibaba-owned Youku Tudou.
