Podcast Atlas
entity Updated 2026-07-09 Tags: Company, Streaming, Long-Video, China

iQIYI / 爱奇艺

iQIYI appears in 266.从红果到AI短剧：谁在革谁的命？ as the long-video platform case whose leader 龚宇 proposed a shift toward a submission-based, decentralized platform. The episode uses that proposal to ask whether long-video platforms can move away from producer-led, big-IP, big-budget commissioning toward more open market testing.

The source’s critique is organizational as much as technical. Long-video platforms are described as having producer approval, actor, IP, and budget structures that narrow content supply, while short-drama platforms use Short Drama Economics, advertising feedback, and fast recommendation testing to find demand more quickly.

No.204 互联网视频平台混战：从后舍男生到漫长的季节 | 中国互联网故事21 adds iQIYI’s older long-video history. The episode presents 龚宇 as starting from the belief that video competition would ultimately be about content, then follows iQIYI through exclusive rights, 马东 / Ma Dong’s web-variety work, “The Lost Tomb,” Video Membership Model growth, heavy losses, and later profitability through focus, price increases, and cost control.

Key Points

  • iQIYI is the long-video contrast case for 红果, Douyin, and AI short-drama distribution.
  • The episode does not say long video loses all value; it distinguishes long-form horizontal-screen viewing from short-drama fragmented consumption.
  • The challenge for iQIYI-like platforms is Platformized Drama Production: accepting more creator supply without losing quality, compliance, or business discipline.
  • Episode 204 adds the historical reason this is hard: Chinese Long-Video Platform Economics made iQIYI successful at scale while still exposed to rights, production, membership, and service-quality pressure.

Connections