Qingting to double investment on content to lure listeners to online radio

Qingting.fm, a Shanghai-based online radio service provider, plans to invest “several hundreds of million yuan” to develop high-quality content to attract paid users, boost revenue and prepare for an IPO, the Shanghai-based start-up said.

Online radio, one of the most rapidly growing market segments in digital entertainment, creates high quality content to draw listeners instead of “broadcasting only” like most traditional radio stations, said Wang Yue, secretary general of the Shanghai Network Audio-visual Association.

Qingting will double investment to “several hundreds of million yuan” on high-quality content covering culture, sport and education, after the latest round of financing to raise more than 1 billion yuan (US$159 million), said Xiao Yi, chief operating officer of the online firm which has 12 million daily listeners. 

“We plan to solidify business and generate revenue before an IPO probably in 2019 or 2020,” Xiao said during a conference for a marketing campaign for the 2018 football World Cup. Four years ago, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil attracted 3 billion viewers worldwide.

The campaign will involve top Chinese soccer players including Li Weifeng, Fan Zhiyi and Xiehui to attend a special talk show, Qingting said. There will also be off-line marketing campaigns in Shanghai, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang and Dalian.