China’s Tencent Video Eyes Global Audience For Its Teen/YA Animated Series

Tencent Video, one of China’s most popular streaming platforms with 117 million subscribers, is looking for partners to put its animated series in front of a global audience.

The streamer has built up a significant portfolio of teen and YA animated content in recent years, consisting of both original titles and adaptations of web novels and video games. The shows, available on Tencent’s Cartoon Channel, have made it the number one platform for teen and YA animation in China with 200 million-plus viewers, according to data from the streamer.

Examples of its animated shows include:

• Honor of Kings (13×20’), a 3d adventure/fantasy series based on one of the world’s most played MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games
• Lord of Mysteries: The Clown (13×35’), a 2d adventure/fantasy series adapted from the webnovel series set in Victorian London
• Ling Long Mountain (12×15’), a 2d adventure/fantasy series
• Apocalypse of all Races (26×15’), a science fiction series adapted from the urban webnovel
• The Loud Inn (16×5’) a stop-motion comedy series about two sisters who take over a mysterious inn
• Taisu Project (4×20’), a 2d animated anthology film series featuring four interlinked science-fiction stories about war and life by directors Shinichiro Watanabe, Shuuhei Morita, Li Wei, and Weng Ming

The service views animation as a “huge” growth opportunity, especially if it can secure global licensing deals that extend its shows beyond China.

Qing Fan, producer and content partnerships of animation at Tencent Video, said in a statement:

Our existing content has resonated strongly with the Chinese audience and we feel the time is right to introduce them to international audience. The animation industry, both in China and internationally, offers a wealth of talent and creative potential. We’re excited to bring captivating stories with breathtaking visuals that will captivate audiences at home and abroad.

Beyond commissioning work from local animation studios in China, Tencent has also been partnering with and investing in European and Japanese producers.