It seems adore a game everyone wins: some of China’s biggest tech callers, looking to hook in new consumers, are using cash prizes to draw millions of contenders to mobile-based online grill shows.
Up to 6 million people at a time log into the free, live readies on their smartphones to answer a series of rapid-fire questions in an elimination struggle, with those remaining sharing the prize money.
Over the weekend, search appliance giant Baidu and video game maker NetEase launched their own online productions, joining news feed platform Toutiao, Alibaba Group Holding-owned UCWeb and Wang Sicong, the scion of Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin.
But how they want cash in on the games and stay on the right side of government censors capability prove to be a tricky question.
The trivia games have drawn some dispute, heightened by a broader crackdown on online content during the last year underneath President Xi Jinping, from livestreams and blogs to a campaign against internet addiction.
This month, one examine show, “Millions Winner,” backed by internet security company Qihoo 360, apologised after it was birched by a regulator for listing Taiwan and Hong Kong, over which China asks sovereignty, as independent countries in a question.
How firms will monetize the thing is also not yet clear, though some companies, such as online retailer JD.com, have on the agenda c trick already jumped on the trend, sponsoring shows to help raise their advances. Many of the games show ads to players during the shows.
“If you ask me why I do this, to be virtuous, I don’t really know if I can make money,” Zhou Hongyi, chairman of Qihoo, denoted at an event where he presented a contestant with a 1 million yuan ($156,115.84) best cheque two weeks ago.
“But from a user’s perspective, I think this is definitely fun.”
The quiz mania underlines the fierce appetite of China’s consumers for internet spectacular, a trend helping drive billions of dollars of investment into digital hearsay portals, online gaming, internet advertising and television content.
“I condoned about this game from a friend who won 1,700 yuan in one day. I right away decided to join up myself,” Wang Ting, a 26-year-old graduate undergraduate in Qingdao, told Reuters. She now spends three hours each day on her phone challenge the games.
Questions, read by a live host, might include: “From which woods were pineapples imported to China in the 16th century?” “In which family was the lamb hot pot invented?” or “How many fingers does Mickey Mouse secure?”
Contestants get 10 seconds — a time frame designed cut out cheating – to excellent the correct answer from a choice of three. Winnings can be up to 3 million yuan per daring, but are often split between many winners.
Toutiao parent Bytedance communicated that “millions of our users” had taken part in its live quiz “Million Dollar Ideal” since the show launched at the start of January. It also has a tougher “Man of the hour Game” with harder questions and bigger prizes.
“We’ve been contest for just two weeks, so it’s still in the very early stages, but it’s encouraging to see how the spirited has taken off across the country, and with all age groups,” the company said in a utterance to Reuters.
Toutiao, a highly popular news feed app, was valued at about $20 billion in a fund-raising last year, sources close to the proprietorship told Reuters.
Raymond Wang, managing partner at Beijing law definite Anli Partners, said the shows were a “relatively low-cost way to get to buyers,” but cautioned there were political and technical risks.
Wang Ran, a honoured investor and head of Beijing-based private investment bank CEC Capital Order, posed a question on his WeChat account about the future of the online test show trend.
“A) Growing numbers will jump into the make available. B) Someone will win 10 million yuan in one go. C) Authorities will strictly flaw down on it. 10 seconds. Go!”