Indian creators eye China's Bilibili

Indian digital creators are exploring opportunities on Bilibili, colloquially referred to as China’s YouTube, to build their audiences and generate revenue, despite the platform's absence in the country. Originating as an anime, comics, and gaming community in 2009, Bilibili has since transformed into a diverse video network featuring both user-generated and professional content.

This development unfolds amid improving India-China relations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasizing enhanced business partnerships and mobility during their meeting at the BRICS Summit recently. Additionally, the looming stricter monetisation policies on YouTube may encourage Indian creators to explore Bilibili.

Currently, Bilibili’s international service caters to markets like Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia, with an Android app launched last month, followed by the iOS version and further expansion. Although India is not among Bilibili's initial markets, numerous Indian creators have already begun posting content on the platform.

One such creator, Nawnit Kumar Tiwari, a travel vlogger based in Jharkhand, started posting on Bilibili around 15 days ago and has already gained 700 followers and thousands of views. Tiwari, who has previously accumulated 21,000 followers on Facebook, 14,500 on Instagram, and 6,500 subscribers on YouTube, discovered the need to alter his phone's location settings to access Bilibili.

Other Indian creators have reportedly employed workarounds such as using browsers, location settings, Android Package Kits (APKs), and virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass restrictions.

While the normalization of improved India-China ties could potentially pave the way for Bilibili’s entry into the Indian market, it remains uncertain how this progress will pan out. Associate professor Varaprasad S Dolla from Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for East Asian Studies suggests that international creators like MrBeast could lend authenticity to Bilibili's international version, which is gradually enhancing accessibility to English content. However, the platform's audience predominantly comprises Chinese users.

Dolla also notes that Bilibili is actively rolling out monetisation and other features, though linking the Indian banking system to the platform remains unresolved. When compared to established platforms like YouTube and Instagram, Bilibili may serve as a complementary platform for Indian creators rather than a replacement. Rajesh Sethi, a partner and sector leader at PwC India, emphasizes that YouTube and Instagram already boast extensive creator communities and well-established advertiser networks, while creators have often invested years in cultivating their followings on these platforms.

Bilibili, therefore, is more likely to attract younger audiences interested in anime, gaming, technology, and learning content, as well as regional language features such as local language search, subtitles, dubbing, and creator programmes that could expand its reach beyond metro markets.