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We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.
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India’s Ban of Chinese Apps Goes One Step Further
After banning 59 Chinese Mobile apps last month, the Indian government has gone one step further by announcing a new list of Chinese mobile apps to be banned. This week, China’s largest search engine Baidu and social media platform Weibo were blocked and removed from app stores in India. This brings the total number of banned Chinese apps to 106.
The first list of 59 banned Chinese apps came out on June 29, then a second list of 47 Chinese apps came out on July 27. The actual delisting and blocking of apps has been staggered over the last two months. We can expect this kind of government policy to continue so long as political tensions remain high between China and India.
Have you heard of Mukbang? It’s a popular online trend where people record videos of themselves eating large quantities of food. Mukbang first began in Korea, where the word translates into ‘eating broadcast’ and has grown into a huge global phenomenon over the last few years. The most viewed ‘Mukbang’ video on Youtube has over 400 Million views and is of two young Korean girls eating a variety of food dishes.
Mukbang performers are a new type of food influencer. They’re geared towards a modern need - the videos generally target young, single people who live alone and are looking for companionship. Mukbangers use livestreams to showcase their eating and often promote food products during their shows. This mini-documentary from Technode shows the life of a professional Mukbang influencer in China who has ten million fans and several partnerships with major food brands.
While Mukbang is now more widespread in the West amongst food influencers, the trend was definitely born in the East. And whenever you have a type of content that generates an audience of millions, people can always find ways to monetise the millions of eyeballs.
Tencent to Create New Streaming Giant Through Merger 🎞
Tencent is leading discussions to merge Huya and Douyu, two of China’s largest video game streaming platforms. Tencent currently owns a 37% stake in Huya and 38% of Douyu. Combining Huya and Douyu would create a streaming company with 300 million combined users and $10 Billion in market value. So having a Huya-Douyu merger, which is the equivalent of creating a Chinese Twitch, would allow Tencent to strengthen their position in the world of video.
Tencent is the leading Chinese company when it comes to entertainment, with the largest investment in gaming (Riot Games, Epic Games, Supercell, etc.), social media (WeChat), and music (Warner, Universal, Spotify, etc.). One of their biggest competitors is Bytedance, the company that owns Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese equivalent). In the quest for the attention of Chinese consumers looking for entertainment, Bytedance apps are Tencent’s biggest competitor. A merger to create a streaming giant between Huya and Douyu would be a chance for Tencent to fight back against their rival Bytedance.
Update #43 - More Indian Bans, Mukbang, and Tencent Streaming