Streaming media giants Bilibili Inc. and iQiyi Inc. have reported widening losses despite growing sales in the third quarter of this year, as both Chinese online video platforms grappled with a tighter regulatory landscape. 6park.com
In the three months through September, Bilibili’s net loss attributable to shareholders swelled to 2.7 billion yuan ($416.9 million) from 1.1 billion yuan a year ago, even as total revenue grew 61% year-on-year to 5.2 billion yuan, according to its unaudited quarterly earnings report released Wednesday. 6park.com
B站商业变现进展迅速，仍难解增收不增利之困。11月17日晚间，哔哩哔哩（BILI.NASDAQ/ 9626.HK，下称“B站”）发布三季度未经审计财报，营收52.07亿元，同比增长61%，略低于雅虎财经10位分析师的平均预期；经调整后的净亏损16.22亿元，亏损额同比扩大67.73%。 6park.com
这是B站年内录得的最大单季度亏损。内容社区拉新营销、手游推广等导致销售和营销费用花去16.33亿元，同比增长37%。公司报告期内收入成本高达41.88亿元，也是上年同期的近两倍。受此影响，B站毛利率由去年三季度的23.63%降至当季的19.55%。 6park.com
Its rival iQiyi’s net loss attributable to shareholders widened to 1.7 billion yuan from 1.2 billion yuan a year ago, despite growing its total revenue 6% year-on-year to 7.6 billion yuan, according to its unaudited quarterly earnings report, also released Wednesday. 6park.com
Bilibili’s expanding net loss is partly attributable to rising sales and marketing expenses, which grew 37% year-on-year to 1.6 billion yuan, its earnings report said. The cash was mainly used for marketing Bilibili’s app in areas such as increasing brand awareness, promoting its mobile games, and hiring sales and marketing staff. 6park.com
Expenses on research and development (R&D) rose by 97%, while administration cost increased by 87% year-on-year. This amounted to 788.3 million yuan and 474.9 million yuan, respectively, according to the report.


Bilibili mainly makes money from value-added services, mobile games and advertising. Photo: VCG

Alibaba-backed Bilibili mainly makes money from value-added services, mobile games and advertising, which generated revenues of 1.9 billion yuan, 1.4 billion yuan and 1.2 billion yuan in the third quarter, up 95%, 9% and 110% year-on-year, respectively. Value-added services include premium membership programs and livestreaming services. 6park.com
This year, the Chinese government has tightened its scrutiny of the livestreaming and online gaming sectors to curb what they deem as 'disorderly growth.' In August, the Ministry of Commerce released draft rules that banned items including sex toys, medicines, spy devices and foreign newspapers from being sold during livestreaming sessions. In the same month, the National Press and Publication Administration issued new guidelines that limited minors’ online gaming time to a maximum of three hours a week in order to combat online gaming addiction.  6park.com
游戏业务在二季度出现负增长后回暖，手游三季度收入13.92亿元，同比增长9%。报告期内，B站上线三款独家代理游戏，并参与联运腾讯代理的《英雄联盟手游》以及网易的《哈利波特：魔法觉醒》两款热度游戏。公司披露，目前已有9款独家代理游戏获得版号，将在未来几个季度发行。

Expansion plans 6park.com
During an earnings conference call, Bilibili CEO Chen Rui said that the company has made the Bilibili platform available on smart TVs, to complement its presence on mobile phones and personal computers. The company has also made persistent efforts in expanding content categories for users including animation fans, moviegoers and gamers. 6park.com
In terms of performance, the smart TV terminal has already outperformed the PC terminal in attracting monthly active users (MAUs), becoming Bilibili’s second-largest user source after the mobile terminal, Chen said, without providing specifics. 6park.com
In the third quarter, Bilibili’s MAUs totaled 267.2 million, representing a year-on-year rise of 35%, while monthly paying users (MPUs) grew 59% to 23.9 million. 6park.com
三季度B站月活达2.672亿，移动端月活为2.499亿，分别同比增长35%、36%；日活用户7210万人，同比增长35%。运营数据增速较上季度略有放缓，但社区活跃度和黏性有所提升，用户日均使用时长达88分钟，创历史新高。 6park.com
在财报电话会上，B站CEO陈睿介绍用户增长策略时称，公司今年除了在内容品类方面进一步扩张，还做了场景扩张，B站电视端的月活已经超过PC端，时长也超过其他终端。此外，B站还上线以竖屏视频为主的“story模式”，由此补上短视频场景。管理层预计，四季度用户数量将“稳中有增”，用户渗透还将有进一步提升空间。 6park.com
For iQiyi, the Baidu-backed company attributed its quarterly revenue growth largely to a moderate increase in income from membership services — its largest revenue stream. In the third quarter, revenue from membership services hit 4.3 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 8%, a performance that came as its subscribers fell by 1.2 million to 103 million by the end of September, when compared with the end of the same quarter of 2020, according to its report. 6park.com
Online advertising and content distribution services were iQiyi’s other major revenue sources in the third quarter, accounting for 22% and 8%, respectively, of the total, the report said. 6park.com
However, the spike in iQiyi’s quarterly total revenue was partly offset by its growing content cost, which jumped 13% year-on-year to 5.3 billion yuan. 6park.com
B站在三季度的平均每月付费用户达2390万人，同比增长59%，环比增长300万人，付费率提升至8.9%。其中，付费观看影视剧的“大会员”人数同比增长42%至1820万。受此带动，包括会员费、直播打赏在内的增值服务创收19.09亿元，同比增长95%，是目前公司第一大收入来源。 6park.com
In an attempt to turn a profit, iQiyi has set its sights on overseas markets with a goal of increasing the number of paying subscribers based outside of China to as many as half of its total by 2024. During an earnings conference call, Yang Xianghua, president of membership and overseas business group at iQiyi, said that the company has taken steps to grow its market share in Southeast Asia and East Asia, regions which are culturally similar to China. 6park.com
iQiyi’s financial results came out a month after it scrapped a controversial business practice which allowed VIP members to pay an extra fee to see upcoming episodes ahead of their normal release schedule, a move seen as a response to criticism by the China Consumers Association which said the advance screening tactic was “playing tricks on consumers” and “lacking sincerity.”