This is not the first time a hot TV drama increased online revenues. Last year, the series Grave Robbers' Chronicles, based on a best-selling series of novels, triggered a paid viewing craze.

It was viewed 160 million times and attracted 2.6 million new VIP member within five minutes of its premiered on July 3. According to iQiyi, its server crashed, unable to cope with the heavy online traffic.

Until October, iQiyi had a 56.4 percent share of the market, the largest share. It was followed by Youku Tudou and Tencent Video. IQiyi remains the market leader, according to a report by the China Netcasting Services Association and the China Internet Network Information Center.

The company says it will commit more than 50 percent of its investments this year to developing VIP memberships for online viewing. Income from membership is expected to surpass advertising revenue in the future, Yang says.

IQiyi also pulls in revenue from netcasts of films, self-produced drama series, live concerts, music video and documentaries.

Its digital library has more than 6,000 film titles, including domestic and overseas movies. In February, it formed a strategic cooperation agreement with international record company Universal Music. Its members can watch top live concerts and MTV shows from the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. They also can enjoy documentaries from the BBC and Discovery Channel.

"The 10 million VIP members help us to understand the change in the pay-to-watch market. This also means China's online culture and entertainment consumer market is at a turning point, where games, music, education, online reading and many other fields can seek an opportunity for development," Yang says.

Youku Tudou, another major online video site, has about 4 million members. It says it will invest 10 billion yuan to build its high-quality paid content, including offering more than 50 customized dramas to its VIP members.

Youku Tudou was acquired by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in November.

"The post-1990 generation has a rising awareness of copyright and a strong willingness, ability and habit to pay for what they watch. The group has gradually become the mainstream of culture and entertainment consumers," says Wei Ming, co-president of Youku Tudou Business Group and general manager of Alibaba's digital entertainment business unit.

Netcast firms' VIP viewers will be given priority in watching overseas TV dramas, dozens of films produced by Alibaba Pictures, and sports events such as the National Football League and FIFA Club World Cup matches through cooperation with Alisports.

Wei says Youku Tudou will connect its VIP members with the diversified businesses of Alibaba. By compiling and analyzing data on online users' viewing behavior, the company plans to launch tailor-made services and products.

Feng Jun, a senior analyst at EntGroup Inc, a research center for the entertainment industry, says: "The market for paid users of streaming websites made a giant leap last year and will continue its rapid growth in the next two to three years.

"The online resources are limitless. We notice that some TV dramas that haven't been aired on TV channels were first played on video websites, which is a feast for viewers and a new commercial model for producers."

There is no doubt that high-quality content increases VIP membership, she says.

However, the market is still nascent. Its scale is relatively small compared with overseas video-streaming websites such as Netflix, from the United States, which boasts 74 million subscribers in 190 countries.

"Thankfully, the habit of paying for what they watch is now forming," Feng says. "We expect online content to be wide-ranging to satisfy different audience groups. There will be personalized, elaborate, value-added services as well."

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn