31 Redefining digital publishing business in platform ecosystems in China: The case of WeChat Read
-
Xiang Ren
Abstract
This chapter examines the business strategies and practices adopted by platform companies like Tencent in the digital publishing industry and how they leverage their infrastructural position to optimize the user experience and build competitive advantages, through a case study of WeChat Read, a popular social reading app in China with 210 million users. Deeply integrated into the social media ecosystem of We- Chat, WeChat Read provides readers with advanced social reading experiences based on their real-world contacts and rewards them for social participation with free access to bestselling e-books. This chapter examines the disruptions brought about by WeChat Read and their associated challenges and controversies, and further discusses the changing power dynamics of platforms, publishers, and users in the digital publishing transformation driven by tech giants’ platform ecosystems.
Abstract
This chapter examines the business strategies and practices adopted by platform companies like Tencent in the digital publishing industry and how they leverage their infrastructural position to optimize the user experience and build competitive advantages, through a case study of WeChat Read, a popular social reading app in China with 210 million users. Deeply integrated into the social media ecosystem of We- Chat, WeChat Read provides readers with advanced social reading experiences based on their real-world contacts and rewards them for social participation with free access to bestselling e-books. This chapter examines the disruptions brought about by WeChat Read and their associated challenges and controversies, and further discusses the changing power dynamics of platforms, publishers, and users in the digital publishing transformation driven by tech giants’ platform ecosystems.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents VII
- Contributors XI
-
Introduction
- 1 De Gruyter handbook of media economics: Introduction 1
-
Mapping the field of media economics
- 2 Media economics research: Scope, value and significance 13
- 3 Business perspectives on the digital economy 27
- 4 Media innovation studies: An expanding field 43
-
Perspectives on media economics methods
- 5 Media economics research: Accessing and working with official and non-official statistics 61
- 6 Dealing with causal complexity in media economics and management research: An introduction to qualitative comparative analysis 77
- 7 Working with datafication in media industries research 93
- 8 Experimental methods in media economics research: Understanding the human factor in decision-making 105
-
Perspectives on teaching media economics
- 9 Developing a curriculum for media economics 115
- 10 Teaching media management and economics in China 127
- 11 Toward decolonizing the media economics curriculum in Africa 149
-
Market-level trends in media economics
- 12 The audience in media markets 169
- 13 Developments in advertising markets and their effects on media companies 185
- 14 The effects of streaming on media markets 201
- 15 Challenges and opportunities for recommender systems in media markets 215
- 16 The stunning longevity of media ownership concentration 229
- 17 Old and new leaders in global media markets 249
- 18 Global sports media rights market 267
- 19 The economics of media in the Arab world: A case study of Egypt 279
- 20 Latin America media panorama 291
-
Industry-level Trends in Media Economics
- 21 Clusters in media industries: What is their added value? 303
- 22 The music industry: A trendsetter among the media industries? 319
- 23 New economics of the music industry: Blockchains, metadata and agency problems 333
- 24 The economics of influencers and social media stardom 349
- 25 From platform users to platform labor: Understanding vlogging as a media industry in China 369
- 26 The economics of fake news 379
- 27 The economics of podcasting 389
- 28 How esports may influence the digitalization of the media ecosystem 401
- 29 Disruptive informality: Nollywood and the tensions of informal economies 415
-
Firm-level trends in media economics
- 30 The transformation of news in the digital age: Business model changes, challenges, and future directions 431
- 31 Redefining digital publishing business in platform ecosystems in China: The case of WeChat Read 451
- 32 Precarity, but also possibilities for creativity: Back to the future of work in print news media 465
- 33 User data analytics in media organizations 477
-
Societal value trends in media economics
- 34 Changing authorship and copyright in media markets – A value approach 497
- 35 Public service media: Challenges for delivering universal public service in the platform age 511
- 36 Digital platforms and minority language media: Exploring the prospects of Banjara language media in India 527
-
Conclusion
- 37 Media economics: Key observations and reflections by the editors 541
- List of figures 555
- List of tables 557
- Index 559
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents VII
- Contributors XI
-
Introduction
- 1 De Gruyter handbook of media economics: Introduction 1
-
Mapping the field of media economics
- 2 Media economics research: Scope, value and significance 13
- 3 Business perspectives on the digital economy 27
- 4 Media innovation studies: An expanding field 43
-
Perspectives on media economics methods
- 5 Media economics research: Accessing and working with official and non-official statistics 61
- 6 Dealing with causal complexity in media economics and management research: An introduction to qualitative comparative analysis 77
- 7 Working with datafication in media industries research 93
- 8 Experimental methods in media economics research: Understanding the human factor in decision-making 105
-
Perspectives on teaching media economics
- 9 Developing a curriculum for media economics 115
- 10 Teaching media management and economics in China 127
- 11 Toward decolonizing the media economics curriculum in Africa 149
-
Market-level trends in media economics
- 12 The audience in media markets 169
- 13 Developments in advertising markets and their effects on media companies 185
- 14 The effects of streaming on media markets 201
- 15 Challenges and opportunities for recommender systems in media markets 215
- 16 The stunning longevity of media ownership concentration 229
- 17 Old and new leaders in global media markets 249
- 18 Global sports media rights market 267
- 19 The economics of media in the Arab world: A case study of Egypt 279
- 20 Latin America media panorama 291
-
Industry-level Trends in Media Economics
- 21 Clusters in media industries: What is their added value? 303
- 22 The music industry: A trendsetter among the media industries? 319
- 23 New economics of the music industry: Blockchains, metadata and agency problems 333
- 24 The economics of influencers and social media stardom 349
- 25 From platform users to platform labor: Understanding vlogging as a media industry in China 369
- 26 The economics of fake news 379
- 27 The economics of podcasting 389
- 28 How esports may influence the digitalization of the media ecosystem 401
- 29 Disruptive informality: Nollywood and the tensions of informal economies 415
-
Firm-level trends in media economics
- 30 The transformation of news in the digital age: Business model changes, challenges, and future directions 431
- 31 Redefining digital publishing business in platform ecosystems in China: The case of WeChat Read 451
- 32 Precarity, but also possibilities for creativity: Back to the future of work in print news media 465
- 33 User data analytics in media organizations 477
-
Societal value trends in media economics
- 34 Changing authorship and copyright in media markets – A value approach 497
- 35 Public service media: Challenges for delivering universal public service in the platform age 511
- 36 Digital platforms and minority language media: Exploring the prospects of Banjara language media in India 527
-
Conclusion
- 37 Media economics: Key observations and reflections by the editors 541
- List of figures 555
- List of tables 557
- Index 559
