Netflix lands its 1st China licensing deal

Netflix agreed to provide television series to China’s iQiyi.com, the streaming-video service controlled by Baidu, gaining access to the only major film market that had eluded the world’s largest paid video service.

The licensing deal covers television dramas, animated series, documentaries and variety shows, iQiyi said in an email Wednesday. Popular Netflix original content including the latest seasons of “Black Mirror” and “Stranger Things” will probably be streamed on the Chinese site simultaneously, according to the company. The drama “Mindhunter” and animated comedy “BoJack Horseman” will also be available.

Netflix has been looking for a way to enter China to help build a global audience for its growing library of exclusive shows. The Los Gatos company expanded to 130 countries last year and surpassed 100 million subscribers worldwide last weekend without the benefit of viewers in China, where government censors limit the types of content available.

“All of iQiyi’s overseas partnerships will strictly adhere to Chinese regulations on film and TV imports,” Yang Xianghuang, iQiyi senior vice president, said in the statement.

While World Wrestling Entertainment agreed in June to let China’s PPTV air two of its shows and stream them exclusively, other foreign video providers have struggled to get a foothold in the Chinese market. In a crackdown on online content, regulators suspended DisneyLife, a joint venture from Walt Disney and Alibaba Group Holding, and shut down iTunes last year.

IQiyi competes with streaming services from Alibaba and Tencent Holdings, and the company has signed deals with Warner Bros. and Lions Gate Entertainment to distribute films online. The company plans to spend at least $1.45 billion in 2017 to buy and produce “super Internet TV shows,” CEO Gong Yu said in October.