For this latest TECXIPIO infographic, we’ve gathered data for 10 noteworthy file sharing trends in China. Analyses of P2P file sharing network usage generate data that give unique insights into consumer preferences and different target markets. With this analysis, we provide an in-depth look at what’s popular among users of P2P file sharing networks in China.
This file sharing analysis for the People’s Republic of China is based on activity in P2P file sharing networks during the first six months of 2017.
1 – MORE THAN 3 MILLION DAILY USERS OF P2P FILE SHARING NETWORKS IN CHINA
An average of 3,036,589 file sharers in China downloaded and shared at least one file per day over P2P file sharing networks during the first six months of 2017.
2 – CHINA COMES IN SECOND FOR MOST USERS OF P2P FILE SHARING NETWORKS
China is home to 10.77% of the world’s file sharers – the second highest percentage of worldwide users downloading and sharing content through P2P file sharing networks. Russia, with a 14.53% global share, is the only country that outranks China in terms of P2P users. 3 – XUNLEI IS THE CLIENT USED MOST IN CHINA FOR P2P FILE SHARING NETWORKS
The most-used client in other top file sharing countries such as Russia, Brazil, India and the United States is uTorrent, which reached only the second spot in China with a 12.17% share. The most popular client among P2P users in China was Xunlei (68.23%). Other clients include BN (3.5%), Transmission (2.8%) and Xfplay (2.2%).
4 – WHAT TYPE OF CONTENT DOMINATES P2P FILE SHARING NETWORKS IN CHINA?
P2P file sharing networks in China see more than 3 million files coming from Chinese file sharers each day. But what exactly are users downloading and sharing when they go online? To see what file sharers in China try to get their hands on the most, we broke down the figures into content types.
P2P users in China don’t seem to use P2P file sharing networks for one particular content type that dominates all the rest, as was the case for other top file sharing countries. In comparison, the percentage shares are more evenly spread across movies (32%), series (21%) and game titles (16%), as well as e-books (3%). In India, for example, more than 75% of file sharers use P2P file sharing networks to share movie files, with the worldwide average for movies being 50%. In general, all shares are below worldwide averages, except for music files, which account for 14% of file sharers in China (versus 11% worldwide).
Number of daily P2P users that shared at least one file (according to content type):
Movie titles – 987,291
Series titles – 623,981
Games titles – 472,844
Music artists – 423,317
E-books (not mapped) – 104,662
(Note: These numbers are based on daily average file sharers who shared at least one file through a P2P file sharing network. An individual file sharer might still share more than one file per day through a P2P file sharing network)
5 – P2P USERS IN CHINA PREFER HOLLYWOOD MOVIES OVER LOCAL PRODUCTIONS
Compared to the other top file sharing countries, China came out as the country with the lowest share of movie buffs (32%). This figure is almost 18 percentage points below the worldwide average. Nevertheless, a daily average of 987,291 users shared movie titles in P2P file sharing networks. Which begs the question: What films are they going after the most?
The top 5 Chinese movies (according to total file sharers in the first six months of 2017):
“Extraordinary Mission” – 214,230
“Cook Up a Storm” – 192,426
“Mission Milano” – 110,674
“Trivisa” – 96,795
“Heartfall Arises” – 81,449
The numbers are clear: Users of P2P file sharing networks in China don’t seem as interested in Chinese movies as they are in stuff coming out from media and entertainment companies of Hollywood. With 1,574,164 P2P users, the top spot for Hollywood movies shared by Chinese file sharers went to “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter”. More than seven times the number of users who share Chinese movies opts for Hollywood productions via P2P file sharing networks.
Want to find out how companies in the media and entertainment business can benefit from movie piracy data? Then find out how to use this data set to identify and define target markets or to optimize your film distribution strategy!
6 – ‘WAVES’ LEAVES BEHIND A HUGE WAKE AMONG CHINESE USERS OF P2P FILE SHARING NETWORKS
With 15.5% of P2P users downloading and sharing game titles, China is below the worldwide average of 19.4%. Nevertheless, the numbers for P2P file sharing networks in China suggest clear favorites among users.
The top 5 most popular games in China (according to total file sharers in the first six months of 2017):
“Waves” – 2,560,141
“Minecraft” – 1,977,848
“The Sims 4” – 1,496,960
“Euro Truck Simulator 2” – 1,486,477
“Grand Theft Auto V” – 1,381,846
7 – CHINESE MUSIC FANS ARE HOOKED ON ELECTRONIC MUSIC DJ ARMIN VAN BUUREN
The first thing you’ll notice about music preferences in China is that there aren’t any Chinese music artists among the ranks. Furthermore, file sharers spread files of artists like electronic music DJ Armin van Buuren the most, followed by metal and rock music artists.
The top 5 music artists in China (according total file sharers in the first six months of 2017):
Armin van Buuren – 572,235
The Beatles – 297,555
Pink Floyd – 288,280
Metallica – 268,073
Led Zeppelin – 266,540
8 – P2P USER DEMAND FOR TV SERIES IN CHINA: ONCE AGAIN, THE ZOMBIES ARE CRAWLING P2P FILE SHARING NETWORKS
623,881: That’s the number of daily users of P2P file sharing networks in China who downloaded and shared TV series files. Seen in a global context, the 21% share in China for TV series is six percentage points below the worldwide average of 27%. But what was the best TV series in the first six months of 2017? Given the release of the second half of “The Walking Dead” Season 7 in the first months of the year, it’s not surprising that “The Walking Dead” took the lead among TV shows downloaded and shared in P2P file sharing networks. The same trend was seen in the United States during the same time period.
In total, 2,633,105 fans in China downloaded and shared episodes of the zombie series in P2P file sharing networks.
9 – GUANGZHOU EARNS THE TOP SPOT FOR CITIES WITH THE MOST FILE SHARERS
Of the top 5 rankings for movies, TV series, music artists and games distributed by users of P2P file sharing networks in China, the highest numbers of file sharers were found in major cities such as Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.
10 – THE MOST-USED INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER FOR CONNECTING TO P2P FILE SHARING NETWORKS: CHINA TELECOM GUANGDONG
There are several Internet service providers that file sharers in China use to download and share movies, TV series, music, games and e-books. According to the top 5 rankings listed above, the most commonly used ISPs to connect with P2P file sharing networks are China Telecom Guangdong and China Mobile.
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Source: TECXIPIO PIC Definition: The file sharing data is based on number of unique file sharers in China: How many peers (file sharers) shared at least one file of the respective content within a certain time period?