IQ
2 Companies With a Secret Weapon in the Streaming-Media Space
he rise of streaming-video platforms has been one of the biggest shifts in the entertainment space in the past decade. Within the industry, the key to success is often boiled down to one thing: content. That's sensible -- as the movies, television shows, and other multimedia available on a given platform will naturally play the biggest role in whether people are engaged with a particular service.
However, there's also a lot that goes on behind the scenes, and the role that technology will play in shaping the future of the streaming space is sometimes underappreciated. Like many areas of the technology world, the streaming-media space looks like it will be hugely affected by the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. Here's a look at why artificial intelligence applications could be a secret weapon of sorts for iQiyi (NASDAQ: IQ) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL).
A digital illustration of a lens in front of a huge collection of screens.
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iQiyi's AI-derived advantagesiQiyi has the advantage of being backed by one of the world's most advanced AI leaders. The company was spun off in March from Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), China's largest internet search engine and a world leader in AI. Baidu, which retains a roughly 70% stake in its streaming offshoot, is already providing the company with AI and data analytics services, and has plans to continue providing its subsidiary with more support in these fields.
In addition to using AI in advertising applications and its own version of the recommendation systems found on other streaming platforms, iQiyi is implementing AI in some ways you might not expect. The company is using self-adjusting algorithms to estimate which concepts, actors, actresses, and other production talent are most likely to help create content that users will fall in love with. For example, the streaming platform used an AI-based system to help select the cast and shape the content of its hit reality television program Hot Blood Dance Crew. It's also employing AI-generated suggestions to help with the editing of its programs.
If artificial intelligence can reliably provide formulas that improve the success rates of creative projects, the companies with the best access to data and algorithms should gain a major competitive advantage. Artificial intelligence could also help pave the way for streaming-based video games to go mainstream by improving information delivery -- an appealing prospect because iQiyi has signaled it aims to be a bigger player in gaming.
At present, the company's relationship with Baidu and innovative efforts to incorporate AI into content production, delivery, and marketing appear to provide significant differentiation for the company in the Chinese streaming space. |
