Online video channels produce virtual fame

Cast members of Rage Comic attend a Beijing promotional event. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The website has over 30 million individual channels－50 percent more than in August 2015－Gu Sibin, chief product officer of Heyi Group, which runs Youku, said earlier this month.

Some have proved to be miracles by combining entertainment and business.

For example, Luo Zhenyu, a reading program host, sold 1.2 million yuan ($179,000) worth of books within six hours through his channel.

Pop singer-turned-entrepreneur Lin Yilun recently nabbed an 83 million yuan investment in his chili sauce startup after his cuisine channel became popular.

Rage Comic－a series of comics released online depicting embarrassing moments in daily life－has morphed from an individual studio into a group with over 300 employees running various talk-show channels.

Sales of derivative merchandise reached "tens of millions yuan in 2015", chief operating officer Wang Qufu says.

"You have to be continuously creative or die," says Wang.

"Our channels don't have monopolies like those on traditional TV. We can only focus on how to make each episode great and embrace new business lines."

Youku has invested 3 billion yuan since August 2015 to nurture individual channels.

"No other media has shown such power to facilitate interactions between fans and program hosts," Gu says.

"It's an easy assembly line of content, distribution and profits."

But there are challenges.

Zeng says it's difficult to sustain the original characteristics of channels previously run by individuals.

"The channels became popular because of their uniqueness but inevitably more mainstream as more people get involved. Production be more professional. But certain styles must be preserved."

For example, 262's Mandarin is poor. Zeng replaced his dubbing with a TV anchor's but netizens weren't having it. Ultimately, 262 returned.

Ma Rui, who runs a celebrity-gossip channel, expresses concerns about distorted values.

About 80 percent of the content comes from fans, the 29-year-old explains.

"Our shows give the appearance of leisure and entertainment but are rigidly supervised by our group," says Ma.