iQIYI, Inc., an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, announced that it has reached a strategic partnership with Astro, Malaysia’s major pay-television service provider. Based on the global operations of the iQIYI App (the “App”), iQIYI will be cooperating with Astro on marketing and localization of iQIYI’s services. Through iQIYI’s middle-end for technology, products and content, Astro will be able to benefit from iQIYI’s operational capacity; while iQIYI can reach local users through Astro’s strong media and marketing networks. Users in Malaysia will be able to use their Astro accounts to login to the iQIYI App or use their Facebook or Google accounts to register for new iQIYI accounts. This helps strengthen iQIYI’s international presence and enables iQIYI to offer better entertainment services for overseas markets.

As iQIYI’s first App partner outside China and the leading platform in Malaysia, Astro covers TV, OTT, radio and more, providing services for more than 5.7 million households in Malaysia (76% of the Malaysian households). Under the collaboration, users in Malaysia will be able to use the iQIYI App to access iQIYI original dramas, variety shows, films, animations while Astro customers will enjoy more exclusive privileges in content and services. Through previous collaborations in content distribution and the launch of the iQIYI content channel on Astro, iQIYI original programs like The Thunder, Arsenal Military Academy, Last One Standing, Qing Chun You Ni, The Rap of China, I Can I BB are getting popularity in Malaysia. So far, over 2 million local users have visited and watched iQIYI content channel.

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“Astro is excited to be iQIYI’s first App partner outside China. The partnership is timely in an era of streaming services where consumers are able to enjoy abundant choices in entertainment. The demand for fresh and compelling content, great experience and services matters as consumers become increasingly savvier,” said Henry Tan, CEO of Astro. “Content and technology are key drivers for streaming video services and iQIYI is among the forerunners in this space. We look forward to learning from iQIYI in the areas of data science and AI. Leveraging on both Astro and iQIYI’s strengths, we are able to offer fresh and compelling content and services that are relevant for the Malaysian demographics.” In the future, iQIYI’s premium contents such as Sword Dynasty, iPARTMENT 5, Once Upon a Time in LingJian Mountain, I Can I BB 6, Qing Chun You Ni 2, and contents by Astro such as Xuan Web Drama Why So Famous, MACIP, Call Me Handsome will be made available to Malaysian users through the iQIYI App.

“The exchanges and communications of global content have become more accessible with the help of wireless technology, data storage technology and big-data analytics. We hope to provide quality entertainment services to overseas users by sharing our research and development results, data storage capability and computing power with our partners,” said Yang Xianghua, President of Membership and Overseas Business Group of iQIYI. “Astro has been a close partner of iQIYI, it has strong marketing capabilities and outstanding content creation and distribution strengths. We share the same belief of providing users with high-quality entertainment experiences through technological innovation and content creativity. And we are confident that this close partnership will continue to fully synergize through the creativity and capabilities of both parties to provide users in Malaysia with better services.”

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In 2017, iQIYI started reaching overseas audiences through content distribution, over 2,000 episodes of original content has been distributed to over 200 territories. In June 2019, iQIYI officially launched the iQIYI App and powered global operations through its middle-end. The iQIYI App provides subtitle and intelligent search features that run in multiple languages including Chinese, English, Malay, Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese among others. At present, iQIYI has already established multiple overseas data centers and content distribution networks to conduct system optimization based on different markets’ environment to ensure the highest playback quality provided to all users. In the future, iQIYI will share its technology capacities with partners around the world in the areas of media database management, smart content production, smart distribution and smart operation, so as to offer premium entertainment experiences. In terms of international services and operations, by globalizing the technological and content production and through establishing localized teams and partnerships, iQIYI is committed to exploring customized operational modes and serving users of different markets.

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