Study: British TV Dramas Gaining Traction Among Chinese Elite

China’s fiercely competitive streaming video sector has seen audience growth for an emerging content category that is attracting its most sophisticated local viewers: British TV dramas.

A new study from Beijing-based entertainment research firm Entgroup has revealed that China’s urban wealthy and well-educated are increasingly buzzing about Britain's lushly produced TV fare, including shows like Downton Abbey and Sherlock.

Comparing rates of discussion on Chinese social media sites, Entgroup found that British dramas now account for 9 percent of all mentions of foreign television programming, whereas just a few years ago such shows were essentially unknown in the country. Korean TV, by comparison, commands 28 percent of all social media discussion of international TV.

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But when Entgroup examined social media sites that draw an exclusive white collar and college educated userbase, discussion of British shows hit 13 percent, and Korean drama fell to just one percent.

The trend mirrors what Chinese television critics have taken to calling the “disdain chain,” in which British TV fans look down on fans of U.S. shows, American TV aficionados snub Korean soap fans, who themselves turn their noses up on people who simply like local Chinese TV.

“Though British drama viewers are a minority, they are high-end and very loyal,” said Jean Shao, spokeswoman of leading streaming video site Youku Tudou, told the Wall Street Journal. ”This is what the advertisers fancy.”

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Chinese video sites are tailoring their offerings to meet the demands of this rarified slice of the viewership -- and the luxury advertisers they attract. Sohu.com Inc. launched the first dedicated British drama channel in China last year, the Journal noted in its report. And Youku Tudou debuted a British TV feed in April, followed by Tencent Holdings in June.

The U.K.’s premiere TV producers, such as BBC Worldwide and Fremantle Media, are finding their content much in-demand, as China video sites vye for exclusive rights. According to the Journal, Tencent has the exclusive rights to 13 British shows with a total of 500 episodes, while Youku Tudou Inc is licensed to stream 32 shows, with 200 episodes.

“The storylines in British dramas are more complete and British actors are A-listers in terms of acting skill,” said Zhu Xiangyang, chief content officer of Youku Tudou. “The high quality of British dramas is what demanding audiences look for.”

Caroline Torrance, director, scripted at BBC Worldwide said: “Our drama has always done very well in China and continues to do so. Viewers seem to really gravitate towards the rich story-telling and high production values of our series. Sherlock has been a hit there as it has worldwide, and Mad Dogs and Parade’s End are other dramas that have sold there recently."

Added Torrance: "With high-end titles, such as Top of the Lake, Orphan Black and A Young Doctor’s Notebook coming through our slate, I would expect we will continue to see success with our programs in this market."

Minorities aren't gaining in housing rebound

Hispanic households on average lost nearly half of their home equity between 2007 and 2010, according to a paper by the Urban Institute. Black households lost 28% and white households lost just 24%.



The housing bust hit minorities harder partly because they came to the home ownership party later, according to Caroline Ratcliffe, a co-author of the Urban Institute paper.

"Hispanics in particular did a lot of home buying just before the recession hit," she said.

That meant that many bought at or near the top of the market. And when their home equity vanished, it made them more vulnerable than other groups to foreclosure.

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Now that home values are rebounding, it will benefit white households much more. Their home ownership rate is close to 75%. Black home ownership is about 45% and for Hispanics, it's 47%.

"Due to disproportionate loss of home ownership among people of color, the racial wealth gap is likely to grow further as families that have lost their homes will see no benefit from the recovering home prices," said James Carr, senior fellow with the Center for Economic Progress.

Minorities also haven't been able to get back into the housing market because banks have made it tougher and costlier for risky borrowers to get mortgages.

Minority families are facing several barriers to becoming home buyers again.

Most home loans are now backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration. All have made loans more expensive for borrowers with low credit scores.

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Additional fees for buyers with low credit scores can add up -- more than $100 a month when compared to someone with a high credit score getting a conventional loan.

Even worse, FHA borrowers now have to pay mortgage insurance premiums for the entire term of the loans, even during the last few years when the risk of default is very small.

Government programs favor the well off over the poor, said Ratcliffe.

"The federal government spends billions in tax credits to promote long-term asset growth," she said. "Tax-free retirement savings, the mortgage interest deduction and other programs primarily benefit high income Americans.

The wealth gap could widen if the pathway to home ownership is blocked for too many minorities, said Lewis Ranieri, founder of Ranieri Partners.

"We need a system that funds first time homeowners and trade up buyers and it shouldn't be only for middle class whites," he said.

 

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