The archive · Content & Film · Strategic decision · 2019–2020
bilibili 2019 New Year's Eve Gala: 80M Viewers, Market Cap Up 12.5%
First video-site New Year's Eve gala: Warcraft, Harry Potter, Luo Tianyi, traditional music; 80M viewers; stock up 12.51%.
bilibili (哔哩哔哩)
What it had to solve
On New Year's Eve, December 31, 2019, major provincial satellite TV channels, as usual, competed for ratings with 'traffic celebrities + medleys of hit songs'; bilibili needed a gala that young people would want to stay on its platform and that could prove the strength of its community content.
How it works
On Dec 31, 2019, bilibili held its first New Year's Eve gala, 'The Most Beautiful Night'. While TV channels competed with celebrities, bilibili featured Warcraft, Harry Potter, Luo Tianyi, and traditional music. The program list mirrored its community culture.
The gala had three chapters—Sunset, Moonrise, Starry Sky—mixing games, anime, film, and Chinese-style music. Director Gong Peng avoided purely 2D or 3D content and removed a guichu crosstalk to appeal to core users and broader audiences.
Peak concurrent viewers exceeded 80 million; the video got 1.3 million danmu; replays neared 96.4 million by April 2020. On Jan 2, 2020, bilibili's stock closed up 12.51% at $20.95, market cap $6.536 billion, a new high since June 2018.
Why it lands
- Replacing traffic celebrities with on-site cultural memories turned 'understanding young people' from a slogan into the program list itself.
- The three-chapter structure and the mix of Chinese traditional music and virtual idols created a sense of surprise that satellite TV galas could not provide.
- The 'first New Year's Eve gala hosted by a video website' was itself the starting point for buzz and word of mouth.
- The gala also validated the commercialization capability of bilibili's content ecosystem, and a title sponsor followed.
What it did
Peak concurrent online viewers that night exceeded 80 million, and the full video received 1.3 million danmu; replay views reached nearly 96.395 million by April 2020. On January 2, 2020, the first trading day of the U.S. stock market, bilibili's share price closed up 12.51% at US$20.95, and its market capitalization reached US$6.536 billion; title sponsor Juhuasuan (聚划算) entered at the same time.
What you can take
Differentiate by showcasing your unique culture, not by competing on celebrity bookings.
Since then
The gala became a landmark event for bilibili's 'breaking out of the circle': Juhuasuan secured the title sponsorship, the share price rose sharply 12.51% on the first trading day after the gala, reaching a new high since June 2018; Jiemian News published a long review of the gala, calling it the climax of bilibili's expanding-the-circle campaign; replay views of the gala approached 100 million within months.
Sources
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