Live video broadcasting has become a hot topic this year. Both Internet giants and start-ups are beefing up efforts to develop their own platforms to support this new way of social networking. Executives believe that live-streaming videos could cause subversive changes to traditional industries like television. But the road ahead will be long and bumpy. The lack of a mature business model and unclear regulations challenge the developers of live-streaming apps.
Seemingly out of nowhere, live video broadcasting blew up around China in the first half of 2016.
From regular people to TV drama stars, from tech icons like Xiaomi Inc's founder Lei Jun to the famous Hong Kong writer Tsai Lan, almost no one can escape the latest development in social networking.
On Saturday, 74-year-old Tsai live broadcast his conversation with 81-year-old Hong Kong-American novelist Ni Kuang via a mobile app. They cheerfully talked about topics like their favorite books and attitudes toward food and love, while drinking beer and eating snacks at home. The conversation, which lasted an hour, attracted an audience of more than 1 million people around China.
It was just a small reflection of how live video broadcasting has impacted people's ordinary lives.
Data from Guangzhou-based market research firm iiMedia Research showed that China's live video broadcasting platforms had 200 million users as of the end of 2015 - more than half of the U.S.'s total population.
"Social networking has entered the era of real-time video," Liu Xiaoyu, marketing manager of Xiaomi's interactive entertainment unit, told the Global Times Tuesday.
Since last year, Xiaomi has been pumping up efforts to explore opportunities in the sector.
Liu said that the company plans to launch its official live broadcasting platform to meet the increasing demand for live video broadcasting in the second half of this year.
Xiaomi's CEO showcased the company's achievement in a live video broadcast on May 25, introducing Xiaomi's new gismo - a drone - to an audience of more than 1 million people.
Aggressive entrance
Other major Internet companies in China, especially Baidu Inc, Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding - known as BAT in the industry - have also been making moves to ensure that this new opportunity does not pass them by.
Tencent, which already leads China's mobile social networking sector with its WeChat and QQ applications, appears to want to maintain its influence in the era of live video broadcasting and becomes the most aggressive company pushing this new form of social networking.
After nearly three years of work, the Shenzhen-based Internet mammoth now runs about nine platforms that support live-streaming videos involving professional sports events, online gaming competitions and talk shows generated by ordinary users, according to media reports.
Meanwhile, Baidu has opened its own live video broadcasting platform in February.
In March, Alibaba tested a real-time video broadcasting feature for its Taobao and Tmall online marketplaces, allowing shoppers to hang out live as young, beautiful celebrities participated in fashion events around the world.
China's live video broadcasting industry has also attracted many start-ups. Nearly 200 live video broadcasting apps popped up in the Chinese market in 2015 alone, according to iiMedia.
