iQIYI, Inc., a market-leading online entertainment service in China, and the Academy of Broadcasting Planning (“ABP”) of the National Radio and Television Administration (“NRTA”) jointly held the kick-off meeting for the development of the industry standard “Specifications of Internet Interactive Video Data Format” (the “Specifications“). Representatives and experts from the NRTA, China Electronics Standardization Institute, China Media Group, Tencent Video, Youku, Mango TV, Tsinghua University, and Beihang University among other entities attended the meeting. The Specifications is scheduled to be officially released by the end of 2019.

The interactive video is a new video format that comprises interactive components such as branching plots, role switching and exploration of visual information. The interactive video industry, however, is still in its early stage and has not yet developed a systematic process and standard for its production. Notably, the customizable features of the interactive video require extremely high real-time performance and the arrival of 5G technology has made possible the delivery of tailor-made content without affecting users’ viewing experience. More than 50,000 5G base stations are expected to be built in 50 cities in China by 2019.

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ABP and iQIYI, in cooperation with other industry players, have formed a taskforce to undertake the development of the Specifications. By defining and standardizing interactive video-related terminologies, functions, production processes and data formats, the Specifications will help content creators produce high-quality interactive entertainment content more conveniently and efficiently, accelerating the process of interactive videos from experimental to industrialized.

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“With the Specifications, content creators, production software and video platforms will be able to create and navigate interactive videos under a standardized ecosystem,” said Liu Wenfeng, iQIYI’s Chief Technology Officer and President of Infrastructure and Intelligent Content Distribution Business Group (IIG). “The creation of a Specification is essential to the sustainable development of the interactive video industry.”

As a pioneer of the interactive video industry and a key member of the Specifications‘ taskforce, iQIYI has contributed to the growth of the domestic interactive video industry by developing industry-wide standards, tools and content templates for interactive video productions. In May 2019, iQIYI launched the world’s first Interactive Video Guideline and Interactive Video Platform. iQIYI then released China’s first interactive film and television work His Smile in June 2019. At present, iQIYI has applied interactive video technologies to film and television works, variety shows as well as commercials. Going forward, iQIYI will continue leading the interactive video industry by further updating and developing industry-wide standards.

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