iQIYI arrives in Argentina and proposes a different way of understanding streaming

It didn’t come with a pervasive campaign or promise to “revolutionize entertainment.” iQIYI appeared in Argentina almost obliquely and sideways, as if it didn’t need to announce itself loudly. A QR in a Chinese supermarket, some banners in Chinatown, a first edition that more closely resembles the logic of the fanzine than that of the global advertising machine. This first gesture says a lot: iQIYI is not taking the place of Netflix, but to propose something different.

Asia’s largest streaming platform officially began operations in the country in March 2025, led by Jade Stream, its local representative. The numbers that prove this are difficult to ignore: more than 500 million monthly active users, 100 million paid subscribers, presence in 191 countries and a catalog of more than 1,700 series, programs and animations, as well as more than 3,500 films. But to reduce iQIYI to a matter of size would be to lose sight of what is most interesting: its cultural project. In a context in which Western platforms seem to be becoming more and more similar to one another – same genres, same narrative rhythms, same algorithms – iQIYI is uncompromisingly committed to specialization. His catalog is a total immersion in Asian audiovisual media: Chinese historical dramas, fantastic romances of the xianxia genre, Thai romantic comedies that dominate young consumption in Asia, reality shows and animations that no longer compete from the periphery but from the center.

Argentina’s interest in this type of content is not new. Over the past decade, K-dramas, anime, and certain Chinese films have gained prominence in local catalogs and everyday conversations. iQIYI comes when this ground has already been prepared, but with one crucial difference: it does not offer an “Asian area” within a platform, but rather a complete ecosystem.

Founded in 2010 by Gong Yu, its current CEO, iQIYI is both a content company and a technology company. The biggest difference is the intensive use of artificial intelligence and big data. Algorithms not only recommend what to watch, but also intervene in the creative process: they analyze scripts, suggest castings, anticipate possible successes and even enable interactive experiences in which the audience can decide how a story develops. Streaming ceases to be a passive showcase and becomes a narrative laboratory.

PROFILE spoke to the company’s vice president, Leo Geng. In his opinion, this technological approach is linked to a very precise capture of contemporary consumer habits. iQIYI is strongly committed to mini-dramas that are shot in portrait format and can be viewed in short fragments on mobile phones or on public transport. It is not a concession to the modern situation, but a deep understanding of how fiction is consumed today, particularly among young audiences. While other platforms continue to think about the living room, iQIYI thinks about the pocket.

There’s also a business model that breaks some of the orthodoxy of global streaming. The platform offers a freemium version that provides free access to part of the catalog with advertising, as well as two paid plans with competitive prices. It’s a clear audience acquisition strategy as well as a statement of principle: expand access before closing the door. In times when almost all content is behind a paywall, this decision is not an easy task.

But beyond business and technology, says Leo Geng, iQIYI can be read as a tool of Chinese soft power. Just as South Korea consolidated its cultural influence through music, series and cinema, China appears determined to combat perceptions on a global scale. Audiovisual productions are more effective as letters of recommendation than any diplomatic speech. It’s not about explicit propaganda, but about familiarity: landscapes, mythologies, emotional codes that feel slow.

In this sense, iQIYI comes to Argentina not only to gain subscribers, but to establish a sustainable cultural presence. Interest in future local co-productions and alliances with Argentine companies suggests that the landing is not just temporary. Perhaps that is why iQIYI promises neither to change the public nor television, nor to “kill the cinema”. His proposal is quieter and therefore more impactful: it offers a real alternative in an ecosystem saturated with options that are paradoxically too similar. In a market where almost everything is designed to please everyone, iQIYI has chosen to please only a few.

Sometimes cultural changes come not with a bang, but with a minimal gesture: a QR code, an unknown series, a story told from another part of the world. This is what iQIYI relies on. For someone who discovers, almost without realizing it, that there are other ways of seeing and telling. And once this discovery is made, there is no going back.