China’s Short Video and Live Streaming Sector Surpasses 15 Million Professional Hosts

(CTN News) – According to research, China’s vast short video and live-streaming business has continued to grow, with the number of professional presenters already exceeding 15 million, even though audience counts nationally have plateaued.

According to a survey released on Wednesday by the state-run China Netcasting Services Association (CNSA), the world’s largest internet market had 15.08 million professional short video hosts and live streamers as of the end of December last year.

This growth demonstrates how short video and live-streaming campaigns have increased online retail sales, with popular influencers and small merchants selling everything from cosmetics, food, and beverages to smartphones and cars.

Rise in Online Purchases Influenced by Short Videos and Live Streams

The CNSA estimates that this e-commerce market is already valued at hundreds of billions of dollars on the mainland. The state-run organization reports to China’s broadcasting regulator, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA).

According to the report, 71.2 percent of CNSA-surveyed consumers completed online purchases after watching short videos and live streaming last year, compared to 42.7 percent in 2022.

According to the CNSA, the same 2023 study revealed that more than 40% of internet users viewed short videos and live streaming to be their “primary consumption channel.”

According to the CNSA research, over 660,800 enterprises on the mainland operate primarily through online video services.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, live-streaming e-commerce sales increased by 58.9 percent in the first ten months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, hitting 2.2 trillion yuan (US$304 billion) and accounting for 18.1 percent of total online purchasing in China.

According to the CNSA, despite the widespread use of influencers in internet purchasing campaigns on the mainland, the number of online video viewers has plateaued.

It predicted that 1.074 billion users of online video applications and other video services were active at the end of December last year, accounting for around 98.3 percent of the country’s overall internet population, a slight increase from 1.04 billion in 2022.

Nonetheless, the number of online video service customers in China’s rural areas is increasing faster than in cities, according to the CNSA. According to the report, 98% of rural internet users had subscribed to online video services by the end of December last year.

Increased State Scrutiny on Short Video and Live Streaming Sector

In 2022 and 2023, rural users of such platforms increased by 12.6% and 6.8%, respectively. In comparison, city users increased by only 2.1% and 1.9% over the same two-year period.

The popularity of short video and live-streaming retail advertising has also drawn more government scrutiny.

In November of last year, the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, published an article calling for greater oversight of live-streaming e-commerce, which it blamed for causing “chaos”.

The People’s Daily article stated that instances of wrongdoing in live streaming, ranging from deceptive advertising to misleading pricing, should be handled and penalized to ensure the sector’s healthy and continued growth.

China’s new live-streaming standards, announced jointly by the NRTA and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in June 2022, include 31 prohibited behaviors and require influencers to have suitable qualifications to speak about certain topics such as law, finance, medicine, and education.