Chinese video streaming services in the context of global platform studies

Abstract

While recent platform theory within media and communication studies has been developed around U.S.-based examples, platformization has taken a rather different path in China. Focusing on the video streaming service iQiyi, this article asks: What can we learn from approaching Chinese platforms not merely as exception to Western models, but as an opportunity for theory-building around platformization generally? We argue that Chinese online video represents a useful case for rethinking specific elements of platform theory as currently developed in Englishlanguage scholarship. Through a close analysis of iQiyi's interface and regulation, we develop two arguments. The first argument concerns the relationship between regulatory environment, market structure, and platform affordances; and the second concerns platform interfaces, personalization, and fragmentation.

The co-evolution of two Chinese mobile short video apps: Parallel platformization of Douyin and TikTok

“…Users can create, view, and share short videos in China with Douyin just as they can on TikTok internationally. But unlike the face-value similarities between other platforms, like iQiyi and Netflix (Wang & Lobato, 2019), the waters of TikTok and Douyin flow from the same source into two highly distinct pools: the tightly controlled Chinese market and fiercely competitive international markets. In so doing, ByteDance has achieved a feat with these platforms that no previous major tech company, Chinese or American, has yet managed.…”

“…Douyin and TikTok are both short video platforms that feature 15 to 60 second videos, largely constituted of user-generated content (UGC) as opposed to professionally generated content (PGC). This study extends recent inquiries into Chinese digital spaces for platformization theory building (de Kloet et al, 2019;Lin & de Kloet, 2019;Wang & Lobato, 2019;Zhang, 2020) by exploring and comparing the development of two short video platforms, Douyin and TikTok, in China and abroad.…”

“…An app walkthrough is "a way of engaging directly with an app's interface to examine its technological mechanisms and embedded cultural references to understand how it guides users and shapes their experiences," (Light et al, 2018, p. 882). The app walkthrough method provides an excellent baseline for further analysis of understudied Chinese platforms such as TikTok and Douyin (Wang & Lobato, 2019). App walkthroughs can also pinpoint unexpected user practices or, in this case, the nuanced similarities and differences between two ostensibly identical apps.…”

“…We utilize platformization for a comparative analysis of ByteDance's two short video platforms. Chinese platforms have macro-level distinctions in terms of market, regulation, and affordances and attend to micro-level assumptions about platforms such as recommendation and personalization (Wang & Lobato, 2019). These distinctive characteristics call for a "spatialized platform theory that is sensitive to the historical origins of particular platforms" to "de-Westernize" platform studies (Wang & Lobato, 2019, p. 12).…”

“…Governance of Douyin has been shaped by platform regulation forces in China while TikTok's platform governance has been shaped by numerous international regulatory forces. Digital platforms in China are required to comply with state imposed regulations (Wang & Lobato, 2019). Although the Chinese government controls Chinese corporate platforms in indirect ways (van Dijck et al, 2018), the regime determines which political ideologies Chinese platforms should prioritize.…”