Maoyan teams up with Tencent for foray into entertainment sector

Online film ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment has announced a strategic partnership with Tencent to further tap into China's burgeoning entertainment market.

The tie-up is expected to build a top-level film marketing and distribution system, and leverage the two companies' resources, executives of the two companies said.

"Maoyan currently accounts for 60 percent of market share among China's online film ticketing service providers and we are eyeing more fields such as live performances, sports events, and exhibitions. The partnership is no doubt a strategic move for us to expand our entertainment content distribution network," Maoyan CEO Zheng Zhihao said.

Zhan Weibiao, managing director of Tencent Investment, added: "It (the partnership) is just the beginning. With Maoyan's growth and upgraded strategy, Tencent is eyeing a more comprehensive cooperation in numerous sectors in the entertainment industry."

The partnership came at a time when the market of online film ticketing in China is booming amid fierce competition, with most of the investments going to the top players.

An industry report from iiMedia Research said online film ticketing now accounts for 85.7 percent of the total film ticketing market. In the first quarter of 2019, film tickets sold from Maoyan made up 42.6 percent of total film tickets sold, slightly higher than its major competitor Taopiaopiao, whose market share was 31.5 percent.

Taopiaopiao is also an online film ticketing service provider backed by Alibaba.

Chen Shaofeng, a professor of culture at Peking University, said China's online film ticketing industry is seeing intense competition after tech giants jumped into the fray.

"The internet development has brought great vigor to China's film ticketing market and it will continue to influence the market and the overall entertainment industry with new forms of products and services. That's also what film ticketing service providers are seeking (new products and services) to make them stand out against their peers and win more market (share)," Chen said.

Zheng of Maoyan said the company has been stepping up efforts to develop from a one-stop ticketing platform to become an internet-powered entertainment service provider so it can move up the industry value chain.

"We are seeking to expand our online ticketing services from film to other internet-empowered entertainment services like live performances, short videos, and KOL (key opinion leader) management," Zheng said.

Maoyan has mapped out a series of measures to achieve those goals. Zheng categorized the platforms into five pillars. They are online ticketing, industry data analysis, funding for content creators, a marketing platform, and one for products and services.

The company plans to build a comprehensive data platform with its newly established tool "Zhiduoxing" and its think tank Maoyan Research Institute to offer marketing analysis services to industry players.

"Going ahead, the online film ticketing service providers are likely to see more varieties of innovative products and services," Chen explained.