Orca Entertainment's Spring Collection Content List: The future of content lies not in "length" but in "weight".

When fragmented content is rapidly consuming users' attention, Orca Entertainment is sending out a set of rather different signals.

On May 11th, the 2026 Orca Entertainment Commercial Spring Cloud Release was officially unveiled, announcing over 200 high - quality content projects in dramas, variety shows, general entertainment, and film performances. From the structure of the content list, the number of mystery - themed dramas has expanded to 25, accounting for 25% of the total dramas. More than a dozen IPs from Jinjiang Literature City have been confirmed for adaptation into films and TV shows, focusing on female - oriented content.

The most notable signal is that Orca Entertainment is clearly increasing its efforts in "serialized IPs". A total of 17 IP sequels were promoted in this spring event. Among them are the costume drama sequels The Legend of Hidden Sea 2, The Legend of Mortal's Cultivation to Immortality 2, The Whispering Mist 2, the mystery drama Reborn 2, and Novice's Journey to Swordsmanship 2: The Southern Ming Divine Fire and The Legend of the Dark River 2 have also confirmed their return.

Some sequel dramas in the spring content list

When "light" content is popular nowadays, Orca Entertainment's insistence on serializing content is undoubtedly a "heavy" choice. However, it corresponds to a more loyal user group - in 2025, the average daily usage time of Youku App users reached 60 minutes, hitting a record high. And it also means higher commercial value - last year, The Legend of Hidden Sea topped both the annual drama playback list on Yunhe Data and the list of Youku dramas with the most brand sponsorships.

More importantly, in the domestic film and TV industry, serialized production faces multiple challenges such as team continuity and content quality stability. Being able to promote multiple IP sequels simultaneously is an important proof of the platform's ability to implement IP projects. Data shows that among the top six dramas with the best word - of - mouth in 2025, three were from Youku. The good reputation accumulated by Youku's high - quality dramas will be further magnified through serialization.

To some extent, the high - loyalty users and the long - tail, multi - scenario commercial value brought by IP serialization are becoming Orca Entertainment's core moat.

01. "Heavy content" is becoming more and more commercially certain

In the future content landscape, content will be distinguished not by length but by weight. Those high - quality "heavy" contents that can provide emotional connections and penetrate both online and offline will meet more in - depth needs of the audience, such as empathy and thinking. This is something that "light" content can never replace.

Especially against the backdrop of AI intensifying the polarization, the volume of "light" content is expanding rapidly, making high - quality "heavy" content increasingly rare. As a result, its commercial certainty is magnified.

With continuous narration, well - developed characters, and a complete world - view, "heavy" content can establish a deep emotional connection with users and provide a more stable marketing anchor for brands. It is an excellent platform to carry and amplify brand awareness. This is also the reason why Youku adheres to high - quality content.

Some dramas in the spring content list

In February this year, The Mysterious Case in the Tang Palace ended, but the discussions about it are still going on, and not just about the male and female leads. In this drama, Wang Ping'an, who forced Gong Lian to death, the prime minister who massacred the entire family of the Prince of Duan, and the emperor who was the mastermind behind the scenes are still "accused" by the audience.

Allowing supporting characters and villains to have room for discussion is obviously one of the common characteristics of good works. Correspondingly, The Mysterious Case in the Tang Palace won the first place in both the average number of advertisements per episode and the average advertising duration per episode among dramas since 2026.

In addition, anime content, which has a large young audience, is becoming a new focus for major platforms, and Youku is no exception.

The 2026 Anime Marketing Navigation Book, released together with Youku's spring content list, points out that the average anime - chasing cycle of core anime fans is as long as 6.7 years, and the annual - series operation has cultivated a stable "chasing - update" habit. This content stickiness formed by long - term narration can be converted into direct commercial returns. Also according to the 2026 Anime Marketing Navigation Book, 57% of advertisers plan to increase their anime marketing budget in 2026, and 92% of advertisers agree that anime marketing can help brands effectively break through the niche circle and reach a wide range of people.

The general manager of Orca Entertainment's commercialization center said: "Anime has long broken through the niche circle, but most brands are still unfamiliar with it - they know that young people are watching, but they don't know how to invest or evaluate the effects. The mission of the Anime Marketing Navigation Book is to establish a methodological coordinate system for this field. Brands investing in anime is not just for a "try - out"; it is a strategic channel to enter the underlying aesthetics of young people."

Currently, Youku's anime works such as Senior Brother, Oh Senior Brother (Annual Series), The Cangyuan Map, and Beyond Time have formed a stable long - term serialization, achieving remarkable results. Among them, the pre - registration volume for The Cangyuan Map Season 3 on Youku exceeded 9 million, leading by a large margin.

The person in charge of the general entertainment commercialization at Youku's commercialization center pointed out that the rapid rise of anime, especially Chinese anime, and the stability of the user base and content supply have made anime a new growth track for marketing and a "long - acting medium" for brands to continuously communicate with young people.

02. How to amplify the commercial value of serial IPs

The immersive experience and long - life - cycle characteristics of "heavy" content can be continued and magnified through the serialization strategy, and at the same time, it can further promote the commercial value of advertising brands.

Of course, serialization is not easy. IP serialization is not simply "making sequels". It requires intervention in IP development from the script stage, maintaining the continuity of the production team, the stability of content quality, and the continuity of the world - view.

To achieve these, the platform needs to have rich IP reserves and the ability to continuously operate IPs. The latter requires locking in talents and production resources, operating user assets and communities, and achieving sustainable commercialization.

Youku's exploration in this area in recent years has achieved phased results. In five major fields such as mystery and crime, action and adventure, and social issues, Youku has continuously promoted the serialization layout. IPs such as Novice's Journey to Swordsmanship, The News Queen, and The Secret of Along the River During the Qingming Festival have formed a stable serialized output, bringing definite commercial value at the same time.

In 2023, when The News Queen 1 was aired, with its fast - paced workplace narration, three - dimensional and vivid female characters, and industry issues close to reality, it quickly became a phenomenon - level hit. It not only scored 7.9 on Douban but also restored the audience's confidence in the workplace theme of Hong Kong dramas.

The popularity of the drama also made brands see its commercial potential. Many cooperative brands actively finalized the cooperation intention for The News Queen 2 during the airing of The News Queen 1. When The News Queen 2 was launched in 2025, it attracted more than 30 brand partnerships. Behind this is the definite value brought by high - quality IPs.

On the one hand, the sequel continued the high - quality of the first season, expanding the workplace pattern from the power struggle within the TV station to the tripartite game among traditional media, online media, and the government press office. The integration of real - world issues such as AI piracy and labor disputes made the content more in - depth. The score of 7.9 on Douban confirmed its word - of - mouth appeal.

On the other hand, the independent and career - focused female characters in the drama are deeply loved by the audience, making it an excellent carrier for brands to reach high - net - worth female groups. It has successfully attracted the cooperation of brands such as Dong'e Ejiao, Feihe Milk Powder, and Nivea.

Last year, the cooperation between Ant Afu and Twenty - Four Strategies in Chang'an was one of the top awards at Orca Entertainment's spring event Cool Awards. After the broadcast of Twenty - Four Strategies in Chang'an, the drama ranked first in the total number of advertisements and the total advertising duration among Youku dramas in 2025. As the general sponsor of the drama, Ant Afu deeply integrated with the exclusive characters in the drama - online, it cooperated with the "Candle - Dragon" character to produce derivative mini - dramas, and offline, it successfully implemented the online + offline innovative marketing of the "Super Check - in" activity.

It can be predicted that the serialization of top - notch content such as The Legend of Hidden Sea 2, Reborn 2, and The Legend of the Dark River 2 in this spring event, combined with Youku's mature marketing capabilities, will further enhance the marketing effect, and the IP development path will gradually take shape.

"Serialization means that this content world will continue to grow, and brands don't have to start from scratch every time. In the spring event, 9 series of second - generation dramas were released. Among them, The Legend of Hidden Sea 2 and The Legend of the Dark River 2 quickly topped the Weibo hot - search list as soon as they were launched, attracting a large amount of attention and discussion. It can be seen that the commercial value of serialization is continuously increasing." said the general manager of Orca Entertainment's commercialization center.

03. Exclusive ecosystem: Connecting online and offline with emotional clues

From the perspective of Orca Entertainment Group, the IP capabilities will be further magnified by the group's full - link marketing capabilities, including but not limited to the "full - scenario" ecosystem.

In the content area, Damai Entertainment under Orca Entertainment continues to deeply explore multiple real - world entertainment segments, including concerts, music festivals, stand - up comedies, dramas, and exhibitions. Traditional long - form video marketing only stops at online exposure, while Orca Entertainment extends the value of content IPs to offline.

Part of the music festival content in the spring list

In 2025, the box - office of the performance market exceeded 60 billion yuan for the first time, and the number of audience members approached 200 million. Taking advantage of this trend, Orca Entertainment, through the film and performance platform built by Taopiaopiao and Damai, achieved a complete link from online drama - watching to offline experience. Brands can obtain composite marketing resources such as theater naming rights, character derivatives, and offline film - performance linkages around one IP, rather than just single - time placements.

Take the Xiaomi Music Festival as an example. The four - year - old Xiaomi Music Festival has 27 cooperative brands, and its sponsorship revenue has increased dozens of times. It has become an important scenario for a win - win situation among brands, content providers, and music fans. Many brands at the scene have completed content co - creation with the music festival, connecting with the music scene, lifestyle, and the emotions of music fans.

According to the latest information from the spring event, this year's Xiaomi Music Festival will upgrade its IP matrix, forming an ecosystem of "Xiaomi Music Festival" (large - scale outdoor), "Xiaomi Outing" (medium - scale outdoor), and "Xiaomi Music Festival Inside" (small - scale indoor).

Damai Entertainment's offline exploration also follows the IP approach. It has previously promoted the offline implementation of classic IPs such as Chinese Fantastic Tales and The Seventh Day (by Yu Hua) - the former had the "Chinese Fantastic Tales Dream - Creating Art Exhibition", and the latter had a theatrical version directed by Meng Jinghui.

The general manager of Orca Entertainment's commercialization center said: "Full - scenario doesn't mean covering all channels. It means letting the same brand emotional clue run through the entire journey of users from contact to conversion. The real challenge of full - scenario marketing is not the breadth of resources but how to achieve experience linkage among multiple touchpoints. "

In response, Orca Entertainment's approach is to achieve three - level connectivity: First, connect online and offline scenarios. Youku's high - quality content is responsible for immersive experience, and Damai's offline performances are responsible for implementation, allowing brands to establish a presence in every space of users' lives. Second, achieve full - category connectivity based on IPs. Dramas, variety shows, anime, and offline performances revolve around the same IP, and all touchpoints convey a consistent brand story, ensuring a coherent experience. Third, achieve full - chain connectivity of data capabilities. The experiences on personal screens, home screens, and public screens are integrated. From content exposure to brand experience to e - commerce conversion, the target audience can be precisely pursued - this is the full - chain attribution ability that pure content platforms can hardly replicate.

This combined ability of deeply connecting online content and emotionally extending offline scenarios is the core barrier that differentiates Orca Entertainment from other platforms and truly realizes the long - term commercialization of IPs.