Jackie Chan’s live show on Kuaishou attracts record bookings as short video apps continue to grab views in China

Hong Kong martial artist and movie legend Jackie Chan’s second scheduled live-streaming show on Kuaishou, a rival to TikTok’s Chinese sister app Douyin, has racked up record viewer bookings, demonstrating the celebrity’s sustained appeal and the platform’s reach.

The popularity of short video as an entertainment medium on the mainland has meant that Douyin, Kuaishou, and WeChat’s Channels are increasingly attractive platforms for influencers and advertisers alike. WeChat is owned by Tencent Holdings.

Chan’s next live-streaming show, scheduled for Saturday evening, has seen 10 million viewers “book” a slot to watch the session, according to data displayed by the Kuaishou app on Tuesday morning.

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Chan’s show will feature a mix of activities including singing, chat and trivial games, according to Kuaishou.

Chan’s debut show on the short video platform took place last June, drawing 130 million users at its peak, with over 220 million views as well as 320 million “likes”, according to the company.

69-year-old Chan has published 46 short videos on his Kuaishou account, featuring him giving Lunar New Year wishes to users, showcasing his pet dogs and teaching martial art strikes. The videos have garnered over 65.3 million followers and more than 140 million likes.

Over on ByteDance’s Douyin, big celebrity names to sign up include Hong Kong actor and singer Andy Lau and actress Maggie Cheung. Lau has gained over almost 75 million followers on the platform with his 85 videos. Cheung, on the other hand, has posted five videos with more than 1.4 million likes.

Deep-pocketed Tencent, the world’s biggest video-games publisher by revenue, has continued to invest in Channels despite some early setbacks.

WeChat streamed a live concert for Irish band Westlife, which physically took place in London, in December 2021. It attracted nearly 28 million live viewers to Channels, according to the company. It also streamed two concerts by Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou.

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