On May 23, the mainland Chinese actress Yang Mi’s drama “Fox Fairy Little Red Nian · Yue Hong Pian” (abbreviated as “Fox Fairy”) premiered for only 5 minutes, and its pirated resources were already being sold on multiple platforms, with prices starting as low as 1.28 yuan (RMB) to access high-definition content.
The 38-episode series “Fox Fairy Little Red Nian · Yue Hong Pian” is the first live-action adaptation of the Chinese anime “Fox Fairy Little Red Nian.” The story follows the encounters and challenges faced by Tu Shan Hong Hong (played by Yang Mi), the head of the Tu Shan Fox Clan, and Dongfang Yue Chu (played by Gong Jun), a descendant of the Dongfang family, in a world filled with constant conflicts between humans and supernatural beings. This drama marks Yang Mi’s return to portraying a “fox” character after her roles in “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio” and “Eternal Love.”
According to a report by mainland Chinese media outlet “Daily Economic News,” “Fox Fairy” boasts a star-studded cast and is backed by two major publicly listed companies, iQiyi and Yuewen Group. The CEOs of iQiyi and Yuewen Group, Gong Yu and Hou Xiaonan respectively, are among the producers of the drama. The series started streaming exclusively on iQiyi from May 23 onwards, having already secured deals with 56 clients even before its launch. Following its official release, the drama quickly climbed the trending charts.
However, just 5 minutes into its premiere, pirated copies of “Fox Fairy” were already being sold on various platforms for prices ranging from 1 to 50 yuan, offering viewers instant access to high-definition content. Some consumers even revealed that as early as May 20, when “Fox Fairy” was announced, pirated sellers claimed to have access to the resources and promised synchronized updates with the official streaming platforms.
The report indicates that not only “Fox Fairy,” but also other popular dramas airing simultaneously such as “New Life” starring Jing Bo Ran and “My Altai” starring Ma Yi Li, have become hot-selling pirated resources on various platforms. Recently, the director of “New Life,” Shen Ao, revealed that he had received links offering the entire series for 19.9 yuan. Additionally, pirated copies of dramas like Tencent Video’s “Joy of Life 2” and Youku’s “New Life” were also circulating. On e-commerce platforms, sales records show that a copy of “Joy of Life 2” priced at 1.68 yuan had over 400 purchases within 24 hours. By May 20, the same store had sold over 2000 copies of this drama alone, and “New Life” and “My Altai” had sold over 2000 and 800 copies respectively.
A report from the research firm Digital TV Research indicated that piracy in 2022 caused nearly 64.6 billion yuan in losses to the Chinese streaming media industry, more than double the 28 billion yuan reported in 2016.
Wang Guohua, a partner at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm who had previously handled plagiarism cases related to the drama “The Princess Wei Young” during an interview with “Daily Economic News,” stated that whenever a popular film or TV series is released in China, it is often accompanied by a large number of pirated versions. He believes that the online dissemination and sales of pirated film and TV content have significantly disrupted the order of the legitimate film and TV market.
Regarding the persistent issue of dramas being pirated, Wang Guohua explained that the ease of pirating activities, widespread profit opportunities for pirates who can openly sell to all internet users, and insufficient penalties for copyright infringement by authorities are contributing factors. In cases where copyright infringement is proven, the compensation amount typically ranges from 3,000 to 8,000 yuan, which Wang sees as insufficient to deter piracy effectively.