Operator
感谢各位的等待,欢迎参加爱奇艺2025年第三季度财报电话会议。所有参会者目前处于只听模式。会议将先进行演示,随后是问答环节。如果您希望提问,需要按星号键后再按数字键。现在我将会议交给常宇女士。请开始。
Operator
Thank you for standing by and welcome to the iQIYI Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. All participants are in a listen-only mode. There will be a presentation followed by a question and answer session. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number. I would now like to hand the conference over to Ms. Chang Yu. Please go ahead.
Chang Yu
大家好,感谢参加爱奇艺2025年第三季度财报电话会议。公司业绩已于今天早些时候发布,可在公司投资者关系网站ir.iQIYI.com上查阅。今天的电话会议出席人员包括:创始人、董事兼首席执行官龚宇先生;首席财务官王俊先生;首席内容官王晓晖先生;会员业务高级副总裁段有桥先生;电影及海外业务高级副总裁杨向华先生;以及印刷广告业务高级副总裁吴刚先生。龚宇先生将简要概述公司业务运营和亮点,随后王俊先生将介绍财务数据。在准备好的发言之后,管理层团队将参与问答环节。在继续之前,请注意今天的讨论将包含根据美国《1995年私人证券诉讼改革法案》安全港条款所作的前瞻性陈述。前瞻性陈述受风险和不确定性的影响,可能导致实际结果与我们当前的预期存在重大差异。潜在风险和不确定性包括但不限于我们在美国证券交易委员会公开文件中概述的内容。除非适用法律要求,爱奇艺不承担更新任何前瞻性陈述的义务。现在我将交给龚宇先生。请开始。
Chang Yu
Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining iQIYI's Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. The company's results were released earlier today and are available on the company's Investor Relations website at ir.iQIYI.com. The call today includes Mr. Lu Gong, founder, director, and CEO; Mr. Jun Wang, our CFO; Mr. Xiaobui Wang, our CCO, Chief Content Officer; Mr. Youqiao Duan, Senior Vice President of our membership business; Mr. Xianghua Yang, Senior Vice President of movies and overseas business; and Mr. Gang Wu, Senior Vice President of print advertising business. Mr. Gong will give a brief overview of the company's business operations and highlights, followed by Jun, who will go through the financials. After the prepared remarks, the management team will participate in the Q&A session. Before we proceed, please note that the discussion today will contain forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those outlined in our public filings with the SEC. iQIYI does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. I will now pass on to Mr. Gong. Please go ahead.
Lu Gong
大家好,感谢各位今天参加我们的电话会议。今年夏天,我们凭借原创爆款剧集《繁花》赢得了观众的心。在开始今天的财报电话会议之际,我想分享将这部引人入胜的故事搬上荧幕的历程。《繁花》成为爱奇艺的亮点,是备受赞誉的
Lu Gong
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. This summer, we captured the hearts of audiences with our original blockbuster drama, The Thriving Land. As we begin today's earnings call, I would like to share the journey of bringing this compelling story to life. The Thriving Land became a highlight of iQIYI, a highly acclaimed masterpiece theater collection renowned for its expertly crafted adaptation of famous novels. The Thriving Land tells a compelling tale of three families across two generations in rural China in the 1920s. When production began in Chengdu last September, there were questions and concerns. Can today's audience be drawn to a story set 100 years ago? However, we built this project with strong confidence backed by our years of experience in adapting literature to hit dramas like A Lifelong Journey to the Wonder and The Northward. It is our belief that great stories resonate universally. They transcend time, culture, and age, forging deep connections with viewers across regions and demographics. This ability to tell timeless stories is what sets long-form content apart from faster-paced, bite-sized entertainment. As we all now know, The Thriving Land became a major hit, exceeding the 10,000 mark on iQIYI's popularity index score and topping this year's Enlightened Data chart for PIV Daily market share. Its influence expanded far beyond our platform, making a meaningful impact on traditional TV and offline as well. It achieved the highest average rating per episode on CCTV's drama channel and boosted tourism in its filming location, acquiring the offline effect of The Northward and The Wonder. The success of The Thriving Land is no mere incident. It's built on a proven content methodology to create and amplify IP value through high-quality storytelling and advanced production technology. To connect with broad and diverse audiences and to develop our business model with IP as the core, from online to offline, from domestic markets to global audiences, our business model continues to evolve and scale. Today, our online operations are well-established, global expansion is accelerating, and our experience business is advancing our company. On top of that, we are embracing exciting opportunities enabled by a supportive regulatory environment and advancements in AI. These new regulatory policies lay a solid foundation for innovation and growth in the long-form video industry. At the same time, we are leveraging AI to transform how content is created and consumed. In July, we partnered with Google and ByteDance and launched a global AI short film competition aimed at discovering and nurturing talents who create short videos using AI technologies. We also collaborated with Academy Award-winning cinematographer Mr. Peter Pau on the program at AI Center, featuring AI-driven content. We aim to leverage iQIYI's professional production expertise to cultivate the next generation of operators pioneering innovative AI-driven content production methods and deliver compelling AI-powered storytelling that resonates with audiences. Now let's dive into the details of our business performance in Q3. Starting with content, which is a cornerstone of our business. Our goal is to engage audiences with diverse, beloved content that drives commercial success. For long-form dramas, we focus on top-notch stories with high commercial value. In the third quarter, we once again secured the top position in total viewership market share according to Enlightened Data. Our high-quality lineup included the nationwide hit, The Thriving Land, and our in-house custom detective serials, Coroner's Dilemma, which emerged as summer's dark horse with an active minority index score exceeding 10,000. Additionally, the science fiction series, Movies, earned strong acclaim for its innovative storytelling, reaching a peak popularity score of over 8,800. Moving to movies, we achieved major performance in original theatrical releases. The Shadow Edge grossed over RMB 1.2 billion, leading the box office and making a historic achievement for us. On our online movie platform, we retained the top viewership market share for fifteen consecutive quarters, driven by a diverse slate of 12 key titles. We launched an innovative revenue-sharing model in Q2 to maximize returns for films with limited box office opportunities. With new titles like A Cool Fish 2, this strategy is gaining traction in Q3, generating over RMB 17 million in revenue sharing model in two months. For variety shows, our focus on top-tier titles delivered strong results in both popularity and revenue. The King of Stand-Up Comedy Season 2, a flagship IP, generated impressive membership and advertising revenues. It achieved a high-tier popularity index of over 8,000 and dominated the channels with a leading market share according to Enlightened Data. Additionally, our newly launched observation show, Her Prime, sparked widespread discussions. To deepen audience engagement and elevate our variety show IP value, we introduced consumer products like collectible cards and co-branded merchandise collections, resulting in stronger audience loyalty. Turning to microdramas, they continue to enhance our content ecosystem, achieving double-digit sequential growth in average daily viewing time and daily subscription revenue in the third quarter. Microdramas also have attracted sponsorship from brand advertisers, with more partnerships anticipated in the future. This growth has been driven by our focus on premium content, enhanced original production capabilities, and an expanded library of free titles. Our microdrama content library now includes over 20,000 titles, with over half available for free. We have also established strong capabilities for consistently releasing original microdramas. Hits such as Feet of Three Lives, Nurturing the Night, and Immoral Paradigm resonate strongly with audiences. Additionally, we introduced a dedicated micro animation channel, Manju, and kicked off original production. Microanimation is an innovative format of short-form animation that has experienced rapid growth in the past year, following the success of microdrama and heavily leveraging AI technology. For animations, we continue to improve our original production capability. In the third quarter, over-the-top titles continue to enjoy strong viewership. Additionally, our highly regarded original production, Now Between Salary and the How Much You Re, returned with a second season, captivating loyal audiences and driving high engagement. Next, let me share our exciting slate of content for the first quarter. The diverse content pipeline includes Fitted Cars, In Short, It Go Up Four, and A Bit Low, Can Be Tension, Favorite Honor, Strange Tale of Tang Dynasty Three to Chang'an, Tang Talk, Road to Chang'an, Legend of the Magnet, Dash Meter, Speed, and the Strong and Silent Pipes from Utah. The movie pipeline includes all original theatrical films, theatrical releases, and original theatrical hits for online streaming. The first batch of original films under the Emerging Film Projects, under the licensed films such as Died to Rise 1921, The Legend of He Too, The Volunteers, Peace and Trust, and Nobody. Original variety shows include flagship IP, Blooming Journey 2, Yellow Sunhua, High Young Farmers, and a brand new IP, Wonder Together. The microdrama pipeline includes the first microdrama based on the highly popular IP, A Strange Tale of Tang Dynasty, titled Tang Dynasty Mysterious Python Conspiracy, Tom with Q Time, Q Time, Qi and Pi, as well as For Xingyu, In My Final Days, Samuel, You, Jenny, and The Saint Mark's Destiny. Children's content includes new animation, Ascendant of the Ninth Sun, Returning Dao Squad Season Four, and a new IP, Payment and a First Food Truck. Moving on to membership services, we aim to build a household name membership brand with broad market appeal, rectifying a vibrant content ecosystem and exceptional services. Membership service revenue recorded sequential growth in Q3, driven mainly by original hit dramas like The Thriving Land and The Coroner's Dilemma, as well as theatrical micro hit, NoJa Two. Beyond content, we are increasing our efforts to enhance membership services and deliver unmatched value. Our family-oriented membership plan stands out with inclusive products like the express package offering early access to shows, a valuable driver of new subscriptions and upgrades to this premium tier. The currency experience program in motor continues to boost engagement with meaningful revenue growth year over year. We have created stronger synergy between membership and advertising revenues by introducing branded rooms within the program. We are also integrating membership experiences with top IPs. This quarter, we launched IP-themed membership cards for Neutrol Two and Learning of Journey of Legend for Shanghai, giving fans a deeper connection to their favorite stories and characters. Connecting with our audience is at the heart of what we do. Our flagship July 17 iQIYI Membership Festival has become a signature fan appreciation event loaded with exclusive perks and irresistible subscription offers. We also strengthened membership value and loyalty through over 10 VIP-only gatherings, ranging from fan meetups to advanced screenings. We have elevated membership performance by focusing on operational optimization, aiming to boost membership value and encourage subscribers to stay with our service longer. This includes initiatives to promote longer-term plans and targeted promotions for specific audiences. Additionally, we expanded our bundled membership partnerships to 16 brands while broadening our sales channels across e-commerce and telecom platforms. Moving on to the advertising business, in the third quarter, brand ads recorded double-digit annual growth, mainly driven by premium variety shows like The King of Stand-Up Comedy Season 2 and hit dramas like The Journey of Legend and The Thriving Land. Our content-related ad solutions continue to gain traction, contributing over 60% of brand ad revenue. Key verticals such as food and beverage, internet services, e-commerce, beauty, and personal health all showed robust annual growth. We use AI to drive production innovation and advertising efficiency with features like creative bulleted charts and AI-generated materials, including animation-style visuals for innovative marketing solutions. As we enter Q4, we aim to capitalize on major advertising opportunities such as the Double Eleven Shopping Festival, Christmas, and the New Year campaign, and the new smartphone launch. Our focus will be on maximizing ad sales from premium variety shows, dramas, and drama-centered brands while further enhancing monetization on smart TVs. We will continue leveraging AI to improve brand advertising efficiency. For performance ads, we now have a healthier and more balanced advertiser portfolio with revenue dependent on community individual clients. By industry, internet services and education and training were standout contributors this quarter. Looking ahead, we will focus on capturing new budgets in the internet services sector, including tools, social platforms, and mini-games, while scaling up revenue in education and training, wellness management, and e-commerce. Additionally, we plan to expand our plan of performance and inventory and utilize AI to further enhance monetization efficiency. Moving on to technology and products, we continue to harness cutting-edge technologies to transform the entertainment experience, improve content production efficiency, and boost content value across our platform. On the content creation front, we are leveraging AI to transform storytelling. A notable example is our partnership with Academy Award-winning Mr. Peter Pau. Together, we will launch the Peter Pau iQIYI AI Center to pioneer the next generation of AI-driven talent development. The first titles are set to premiere soon, which we are very excited for. Additionally, we are using AI to produce high-quality original microanimation at much lower costs. Another unique example is the AI-powered iQuickReal connection, which now covers all major content categories. This feature utilizes a smart editing agent to automatically convert long-form videos into vertical short shots, which are then included in iQuickReal collections. iQuickReal collections offer users a real-time experience akin to that of microdramas. We are transforming user engagement with Touhou AI-powered personal assistant that provides personalized support, including video search recommendations and cloud insights. The latest update improved recommendations for microdramas and short-form videos alongside long-form content while also enhancing plot Q&A capabilities. Additionally, we introduced the binge-watching rankings, allowing users to track time spent on their favorite series and view their rankings. This feature has received highly positive feedback. In addition to enhancing AI applications, we are driving the industrialization of video production with cutting-edge workflow production. Our virtual production capability is now used for both in-house and external projects. This quarter, we launched an omnidirectional motion-simulating vehicle rig filming platform powered by our in-house developed iQIYI Stage virtual production system. The platform naturally enhances the efficiency of high-frequency VCOFIN shots. It delivers a streamlined, repeatable workflow and has already been utilized for virtual production in major theatrical productions. Moving on to business performance in regions outside of Mainland China, we maintained strong growth momentum in Q3, with membership revenue increasing by over 40% annually. Markets like Brazil, Spanish-speaking regions, Mexico, and Indonesia saw membership revenue more than double year over year. In this quarter, the average daily subscribers also reached an all-time high. The strong performance is supported by an exceptional content lineup. C-dramas, Chinese dramas, continue to gain popularity globally, with revenues growing double-digit both annually and sequentially. The Thai-dubbed version of Coroner's Diary set platform records for both viewing time and peak revenue within its language segment. It also topped iQIYI's popularity charts in 13 overseas markets. Meanwhile, our local content slate also exceeded expectations. King Jaro, the series, Yunhun Chongqing emerged as a phenomenon in Thai language content this year, generating the highest membership revenue among all Thai dramas on our platform and topping related rankings on Google and Twitter. Beyond long-form content, microdramas continue to build strong momentum overseas. Membership revenue from microdramas grew 114% sequentially by September. Microdramas ranked second only to long-form dramas across several core metrics, including membership revenue and viewing time. Moreover, multiple iQIYI original microdramas gained solid traction abroad. For example, How Dare You Young People has shown a strong long-tail effect three months post-launch. We are also expanding into locally produced microdramas. Multiple projects in English, Thai, Greek, and Indonesian are in production and targeted for launch this year. Looking ahead, we will continue to deliver high-quality content to international audiences, deepen partnerships with telecom operators and local partners, and leverage AI to drive user appreciation. Moving on to the experience business, we are focusing on two key areas: IP-based consumer products and offline experiences. We are leveraging our extensive and unique IP resources to build a more robust entertainment ecosystem. For IP-based consumer products, we have upgraded our business model from a licensing-only approach to a dual-track strategy, combining self-operated merchandise with licensing. Our self-operated portfolio has expanded beyond collectible cards into additional categories, supported by the establishment of in-house teams. IP licensing for the hit drama, The Journey of Legend, has partnered with over 30 licensees, setting a new record while expanding into multiple sectors, including e-commerce, FMCG, and beauty. In our offline entertainment experience business, we are pioneers in this emerging field. At the heart of this initiative are iQIYI Labs, which are designed to operate under an asset-light model. Two locations, Yangzhou and Kaifeng, are under development, with Yangzhou iQIYI Lab scheduled to open early next year. A third plant in Beijing has also been announced. By integrating technologies like AI and XR with our content IP, iQIYI Lab will provide interactive and scalable experiences that are faster to iterate and more efficient than traditional theme parks. This approach reduces space and capital requirements, with revenue expected to come mainly from ticket sales and other on-site spending. As 2025 draws to a close, we reflect on a year of rapid transformation driven by technological innovation and evolving business models. We are not merely adapting; we are advancing, fueled by our thriving overseas expansion, growing experience business, and ongoing AI investments. Breakthroughs in any of these areas could elevate us to new heights. Amid this change, our core remains the same: creating premium content IP supported by a proven commercial model. This foundation earns us the loyalty of hundreds of millions of users and the trust of industry partners. Moving forward, we will continue delivering quality content, fostering creativity with partners, and driving long-term value for shareholders. Now let me hand it over to Jun for the financials.
Jun Wang
感谢龚先生,大家好。现在让我为大家介绍第三季度的关键数据。第三季度总收入为人民币67亿元,环比增长1%。会员服务收入达到人民币42亿元,环比增长3%,主要得益于暑期档的原创爆款剧集和院线大片如《哪吒2》的推动。在线广告收入为人民币12亿元,环比下降2%,因为第二季度受益于一次大型广告活动。公司发行收入达到人民币6.445亿元,环比增长48%。增长主要得益于爱奇艺投资的原创院线电影的强劲发行表现,以及剧集交易的增加。其他收入为人民币5.85亿元,环比下降29%。接下来看成本和费用,内容成本为人民币40亿元,环比增长7%,因为我们在暑期高峰季推出了更多样化的优质内容。总运营费用为人民币13亿元,环比下降3%,得益于我们严格的费用管理。现在来看利润和现金余额,非GAAP运营亏损为人民币2190万元。非GAAP运营亏损率为0.3%。截至第三季度末,我们拥有现金、现金等价物、受限现金、短期投资以及计入预付款和其他资产的长期受限现金总计人民币49亿元。季度末,公司对PAG有一笔5.825亿美元的贷款,记录在关联方应收款项下。更多详细财务数据,请参阅我们投资者关系网站上的新闻稿。现在我们将开放问答环节。
Jun Wang
Thank you, Mr. Gong, and hello, everyone. Now let me walk you through the key numbers for the third quarter. The total revenue for the third quarter was RMB 6.7 billion, up 1% sequentially. The membership services revenue reached RMB 4.2 billion, up 3% sequentially, driven mainly by original blockbuster dramas and theatrical mega hits like Nezha 2 during the summer season. The online advertising revenue was RMB 1.2 billion, decreased by 2% sequentially as the performance in the second quarter benefited from a major advertising campaign. The company's distribution revenue reached RMB 644.5 million, up 48% sequentially. The increase was mainly driven by the strong distribution performance of the original theatrical movie invested by iQIYI, along with the growing transactions for drama. Other revenues were RMB 585 million, down 29% sequentially. Moving on to costs and expenses, the content cost was RMB 4 billion, up 7% sequentially, as we launched a more diverse selection of premium content during the peak summer season. The total operating expenses were RMB 1.3 billion, down 3% sequentially, benefiting from our disciplined expense management. Now turning to profits and cash balances, the non-GAAP operating loss was RMB 21.9 million. Non-GAAP operating loss margin was 0.3%. As of the end of the third quarter, we had cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, and long-term restricted cash included in the prepayment and other assets totaling RMB 4.9 billion. At the quarter end, the company had a loan of USD 582.5 million to PAG, recorded under amounts due from related parties. For more detailed financial data, please refer to our press release on our IR website. Now we will open the floor for Q&A.
Operator
如果您想取消提问,请按2。如果您正在使用免提电话,请拿起听筒提问。为了所有参会者的便利,如果您想用中文向管理层提问,请随后将您的问题翻译成英文。第一个问题来自中金公司的Zhiking Zhang。请提问。
Operator
If you wish to cancel your request, please press 2. If you are on a speakerphone, please pick up the handset to ask your question. For the benefit of all on the call, if you wish to ask your question to management in Chinese, please then translate your question into English. The first question comes from Zhiking Zhang from CICC. Please go ahead.
Zhiking Zhang
感谢管理层回答我的问题。新规发布已经三个月了。管理层能否提供最新进展?谢谢。
Zhiking Zhang
Thank you, management, for taking my question. It has been three months since the new regulations were issued. Can management provide an update on the progress? Thank you.
Xiaobui Wang
谢谢,志凯。我们将邀请我们的内容官王晓波先生来回答这个问题。新政策的核心目标是促进长视频行业的健康发展。自实施以来的过去两个月,我们在多个领域观察到了积极进展,包括国家级和省级管理部门对重点剧集的同步审查,以及对新内容格式播出同步审查的探索,如下载选集剧、多季剧、多艺术剧和接档剧,以及联合审查的优化。在新的政策环境下,我们正在积极创新内容制作和播出模式。例如,我们正在探索一种全新的内容格式——网络系列剧,并将其纳入我们现有的新兴电影项目合作框架。通过与合作伙伴的收入分成模式,我们旨在吸引更多创意人才和高质量内容,推动行业的创新和增长。根据目前的实施进展,很明显新政策向行业发出了积极信号。我们的一些项目已经受益于政策支持,使其能够更快地达到待播状态。随着未来制作顺利进行,我们将逐步看到政策采纳带来的广泛益处。从长远来看,这些政策将推动行业进入新的增长阶段,使全行业专业人士受益。谢谢。
Xiaobui Wang
Thank you, Zhiking. We will invite our Content Officer, Mr. Xiaobui Wang, to answer this question. The core objective of the new policies is to promote the healthy development of the long-form video industry. The past two months since its implementation have observed positive progress in several areas, including the concurrent review of key dramas at a national and provisional administration, as well as the exploration of concurrent review of broadcasting for new content formats, such as download anthology drama, multi-season drama, multi-art drama, and pickup, as well as the optimization of co-review. Under the new policy environment, we are actively innovating in content production and broadcasting models. For example, we are exploring a brand new content format called online feature series and integrating it into our existing emerging film project collaboration framework. Through a revenue-sharing model with our partners, we aim to attract more creative talent and high-quality content, driving innovation and growth in the industry. Based on the current progress of implementation, it is clear that the new policies have sent positive signals to the industry. Some of our projects have already benefited from the policy support, allowing them to reach a ready-to-broadcast status more quickly. As productions proceed smoothly in the future, we will gradually see the broad benefits of the policy uptake. In the long term, the policies will drive the industry into a new growth phase, benefiting professionals across the board. Thank you.
Operator
谢谢。下一个问题来自花旗银行的Vicky Wei。请提问。
Operator
Thank you. Your next question comes from Vicky Wei from Citi. Please go ahead.
Vicky Wei
管理层能否分享一些关于会员业务前景的看法?
Vicky Wei
Will management share some color about your outlook on the membership business?
Youqiao Duan
谢谢Vicky。接下来请我们的会员业务高级副总裁段友桥先生来回答这个问题。自9月以来,我们的会员业务展现出良好的增长势头,主要受三个因素驱动。第一,高质量内容的持续发布。第二,会员服务和权益的不断提升。第三,营销和销售策略的优化,例如扩大捆绑会员套餐,以及针对教师和学生提供定向折扣。9月上映的《沉默的荣耀》打破了人口统计边界,赢得了年轻观众的心。我们的女性向内容,如《逝去的爱》和《剑与挚爱》,以及悬疑剧场作品如《追猎》和《死胡同》,也获得了广泛欢迎。最近上映的《唐传奇之长安三万里》,作为《唐传奇》IP系列的第三部剧集,在首播后不久就获得了广泛好评。该剧在爱奇艺的热度指数突破10,000,成为该系列中第二部达到这一里程碑的剧集,使《唐传奇》成为爱奇艺首个拥有两季热度破万的IP系列。该系列的最新作品在经典元素基础上,引入了更多创新内容,展示了高质量IP系列开发的力量,并成功吸引和留住了忠实的观众群体。同时,我们通过更精细化的运营提升了会员价值和权益感知。例如,提供更多样化的订阅选项,提供会员专属的IP商品,以及为高级会员量身定制的线下活动。我们相信,在高质量内容和增强的会员权益与服务的支持下,我们的会员业务将实现可持续增长。谢谢。
Youqiao Duan
Thank you, Vicky. We will invite our Senior Vice President of Membership Business, Mr. Youqiao Duan, to take this question. Since September, our membership business has shown nice growth momentum, driven by three main factors. First, the continual release of high-quality content. Second, the ongoing enhancement of member services and benefits. And third, the optimization of marketing and sales strategy, such as expanding bundled memberships and offering targeted discounts for teachers and students. The Silent Honor, which was released in September, broke demographic boundaries and captured the hearts of young audiences. Our female-oriented content, such as Faded Hearts and Sword and Beloved, along with the suspense theater titles like The Hunt and The Dead End, also gained wide popularity. The recently released Strange Tale of the Tang Dynasty Three to Chang'an, which is the third drama of the Strange Tales of the Tang Dynasty IP series, received widespread acclaim shortly after its premiere. With its popularity index on iQIYI surpassing 10,000, it became the second drama in the series to hit this milestone, making the Strange Tale of the Tang Dynasty iQIYI's first IP series to have two seasons exceeding the 10,000 popularity mark. The latest release in the series, building on the classic elements, introduced more innovative content, showcasing the strength of high-quality IP series development and successfully attracting and retaining a loyal audience base. At the same time, we have enhanced membership value and the perception of benefits through more refined operations. For example, offering more diverse subscription options, offering member-only IP merchandise, and also offline events tailored for premium members. We are confident in achieving sustainable growth in our membership business with the support of high-quality content and enhanced member benefits and services. Thank you.
Operator
谢谢。下一个问题来自瑞银的Felix Liu。请提问。
Operator
Thank you. Your next question comes from Felix Liu from UBS. Please go ahead.
Felix Liu
谢谢管理层回答我的问题。我们注意到中国文化产业近期在海外市场取得了良好进展。管理层能否分享更多关于贵公司海外扩张和战略的进展?谢谢。
Felix Liu
Thank you, management, for taking my question. We noticed that Chinese culture industries have made good progress in the overseas markets lately. Can management share more progress on your overseas expansion and strategy? Thank you.
Xianghua Yang
谢谢,Felix。接下来我们邀请海外业务高级副总裁杨向华先生来回答这个问题。今年我们的海外业务表现强劲,第三季度总收入和会员收入实现了过去两年最高的年度环比增长。我们看到中国内容是我们海外内容组合的基石,爱奇艺已成为越来越多海外用户观看中文内容的首选平台。我们持续在各个市场推广中文内容,并在主要海外市场看到其影响力显著提升,有效推动了用户基础和会员数量的增长。在本地内容方面,我们在泰国、马来西亚、印尼和台湾地区进行了版权采购和原创制作。其中,泰国是我们最成功的市场。今年我们推出了多部热门作品,例如泰剧《King Jaro》系列,在我们的海外平台上创下了泰语内容观看时长和收入的新纪录。加上字幕后,我们的原创泰剧已在其他市场发行,而我们在美国和其他海外市场的原创泰剧收入已经超过了泰国本土市场。我们很高兴看到泰剧已成为继华语剧之后第二个获得全球认可的内容类别。展望未来,我们计划提升原创泰剧、马来西亚剧和印尼剧的认知度。年初我们提到,一些新开发的市场,如中东、拉丁美洲西班牙语区和巴西,全年保持了快速增长,会员收入和订阅用户数量显著增加。未来,我们将继续提供高质量内容,同时利用AI技术提升内容制作和推广效率。目前,我们海外内容超过70%的宣传材料是使用AI生成的,显著提升了我们的市场效率。谢谢。
Xianghua Yang
Thank you, Felix. We will invite our Senior Vice President of Overseas Business, Mr. Xianghua Yang, to take this question. Our overseas business has shown strong performance this year, with Q3 total revenue and membership revenue achieving the highest annual sequential growth in the past two years. We see that Chinese content serves as the cornerstone of our overseas content portfolio, and iQIYI has become the top choice for an increasing number of overseas users to watch Chinese language content. We continue to promote Chinese language content across various markets and have seen a significant increase in its influence in major overseas markets, effectively driving the growth in user base and membership numbers. In terms of local content, we have engaged in both licensing and original productions in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Among these, Thailand has been our most successful market. This year, we launched several hit titles, such as the Thai drama King Jaro, the series, which set new records on our overseas platform in terms of both viewing hours and revenue for Thai content. With subtitles added, our original Thai dramas have been distributed in other markets, and revenue from our original Thai dramas in the US and other overseas markets has already surpassed that of Thailand's domestic market. We are pleased to see that Thai dramas have become the second globally recognized content category after C-dramas. Looking ahead, we plan to increase the perception of original Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian dramas. At the beginning of the year, we mentioned that some of the newly developed markets, such as the Middle East, Spanish-speaking regions in Latin America, and Brazil, have maintained rapid growth throughout the year, with significant increases in membership revenue and subscriber numbers. In the future, we will continue to deliver high-quality content while leveraging AI technology to enhance content production and promotional efficiency. Currently, over 70% of promotional material for our overseas content is generated using AI, significantly boosting our market efficiency. Thank you.
Operator
谢谢。再次提醒,如果您想提问,请按电话上的1键。下一个问题来自广东证券的Gigi Zhao。请提问。
Operator
Thank you. Once again, if you wish to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone. Your next question comes from Gigi Zhao from Guangdong Securities. Please go ahead.
Gigi Zhao
谢谢。我将自己翻译这个问题。AI在全球影视行业的应用正在不断深入。管理层能否分享关于AI在内容制作和业务布局方面的战略见解和未来计划?谢谢。
Gigi Zhao
Thank you. I will translate the question myself. The application of AI in the global film and television industry has been advancing in increasing depth. Can management share strategy insights and future plans pertaining to AI adoption in content production and business layout? Thank you.
Lu Gong
谢谢Gigi。这个问题请我们的CEO龚宇先生来回答。对于AI技术,它为爱奇艺提供了非常广阔的前景。打个比方,过去二十年,互联网为视频行业提供了超越传统线性电视的机遇和优势。我们认为当前,随着AI大语言模型的发展,它为爱奇艺提供了类似的机遇。过去几年,AI技术已深度融入我们的运营,帮助我们在三个关键领域实现目标。第一是提高运营效率。我们使用AI制作营销素材,例如自动生成海报和宣传营销材料。我们还将其用于海外内容翻译,相比人工成本更低、速度更快。第二点是AI提升变现能力,因为它能高效制作广告创意素材,我们可以用它优化投放算法,提高定向精度和转化率。第三点是AI赋能内容生产。我们使用AI支持内部制作能力。例如,爱奇艺设有剧本工坊,显著提升了小说和剧本的评估与创作能力。我们还有图像工坊功能,通过提供概念海报、故事板生成和角色设计,有效支持早期创意开发。第四点是我们使用AI构建基础用户功能。基于AI,我们开发了Toutdoor World、Toutdoor和iJump等功能,这些都提升了观看体验。以上四点已应用于我们的运营中,我们将持续优化升级,希望能带来更多效益。展望未来,我们将聚焦三大领域。第一是爱奇艺智能制作系统,此前仅供内部使用。我们将逐步向紧密合作伙伴开放核心功能,帮助他们利用AI提升制作能力。第二点是继续推动AI在市场和行业的应用。例如,我们推出了AI短片创作大赛等举措,如开场白中提到的,并与奥斯卡奖得主鲍德熹合作推出AI剧场。这些举措的主要目的是通过合作和市场推广,发掘和培养AIGC创意人才,培育创新驱动的内容生态。最后但同样重要的是,我们将重点与合作伙伴协作,利用现有AI技术探索AIGC在微动画、动画、教育内容、纪录片等领域的大规模应用。希望AI能成为内容创作的核心引擎。这是第一阶段,未来更大的愿景是将AIGC应用于我们的长视频内容,如剧集和电影。我们预计在未来一两年,或可能三年内,但不超过五年,AI将为我们的行业和视频内容创作行业带来巨大变革。目前,我们已在AIGC和AI技术应用方面投入大量资源,这是公司当前的核心投资领域之一。希望未来我们能利用AI创作更具创意的内容,改变内容格局。谢谢。
Lu Gong
Thank you, Gigi. We will have our CEO, Mr. Lu Gong, take this question. For AI technology, it provides a very promising outlook for iQIYI. To take an analogy, in the past two decades, the internet provided the video industry an opportunity and advantage to surpass traditional linear TV. We think currently, with the large language models for AI, it provides a similar opportunity for iQIYI. In the past few years, AI technology has deeply integrated into our operations, helping us achieve goals in three key areas. The first is to increase our operational efficiency. We use AI for marketing materials, for example, automatically generating posters and promotional marketing materials. We also use it for overseas content translation, which is much cheaper and faster compared to human labor. The second point is AI boosts monetization capabilities as it can efficiently produce advertising creative materials, and we can use it to optimize our placement algorithms, improving targeting accuracy and conversion rates. The third point is AI empowers us for content production. We use AI to support our internal production capabilities. For example, we have a screenplay workshop in iQIYI, which significantly enhances evaluation and creation capabilities for novels and scripts. We also have an image workshop feature, which effectively supports early-stage creative development by providing concept posters, storyboard generations, and character design. The fourth point is we use AI to build out basic user features. Based on AI, we built out the Toutdoor World, Toutdoor, and iJump features, all of which improve the viewing experience. The above-mentioned four points are already used in our operations, and we will keep refining and upgrading them, hoping to bring more benefits. Going forward, we will focus on three major areas. The first is iQIYI's intelligent production system, which was previously reserved for internal use. We will gradually open up core functions for our close partners, helping them leverage AI to enhance their production capabilities. The second point is we will continue promoting the use of AI in the market and industry. For example, we launched initiatives such as the AI short film creation competition, as mentioned earlier in the opening remarks, and partnered with Academy Award winner Peter Pau to roll out the AI theater. The main purpose of these initiatives is to discover and nurture AIGC creative talent through collaborations and market promotions, fostering an innovation-driven content ecosystem. Last but not least, our focus will be on collaborating with our partners and utilizing our current AI technologies to explore large-scale applications of AIGC in areas like microanimations, animations, educational content, documentaries, etc. Hopefully, AI will become a core engine of content creation. This is the first stage, and going forward, the bigger picture will be to utilize AIGC in our long-form video content, such as dramas and films. We estimate that in the next one to two years, or maybe three years, but no more than five years, AI will bring dramatic change to our industry and the video content creation industry. Currently, we have been investing heavily in AIGC and AI technology applications, and this is one of the core areas of investment for the company right now. Hopefully, going forward, we can utilize AI to create more creative content and change the content landscape. Thank you.
Operator
谢谢。我们的问答环节到此结束。现在我将交还给管理层进行结束致辞。
Operator
Thank you. That concludes our question and answer session. I will now hand back to management for closing remarks.
Chang Yu
感谢各位今天参与本次电话会议。如果您有进一步的问题,请随时联系我们。下个季度再见。谢谢。再见。
Chang Yu
Thank you, everyone, for participating in the call today. If you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact us. See you next quarter. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Operator
谢谢。今天的会议到此结束。感谢您的参与。您现在可以断开连接了。
Operator
Thank you. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.