Bilibili

Bilibili (stylized in all lowercase), nicknamed B Site (Chinese: B站, romanized: B zhàn), is a Chinese online video sharing platform based in Shanghai. Users can upload, view, and comment on videos, including through danmu (弹幕, "bullet curtain"), a system of overlaid on-screen comments.

The platform originally focused on animation, comics, and games, but later expanded into documentaries, variety shows, and original programming. Bilibili hosts videos with various themes, including anime, music, dance, science and technology, movies, drama, fashion, and video games.

Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili has grown from a niche market focused on animation, comics, and games to a well-known Chinese over-the-top streaming platform serving videos on demand. It also provides a live-streaming service where viewers can interact with streamers and play mostly ACG-themed mobile games, such as Azur Lane and the Chinese version of Fate/Grand Order. In 2022, the platform had about 332.6 million monthly active users, including 28.5 million paying users.

History

Bilibili started in June 2009, created by Xu Yi. He was inspired by other video-sharing websites and wanted to build a better place for fans of anime and games. The website first focused on sharing videos and grew quickly. It later added more types of shows and programs.

In 2014, Chen Rui became the leader of Bilibili. Under his guidance, Bilibili grew even more, working with teams for games and sports. Bilibili also began making its own shows and partnered with big companies like Sony to bring more anime to viewers. The company became very popular and was listed on stock markets in both New York and Hong Kong.

Programming

Main article: List of Bilibili original programming

Bilibili has created its own special shows and videos. These include many types of content, like animated stories, comic shows, and games. Over time, Bilibili also added documentaries, variety shows, and other unique programs just for its users.

Features

Bilibili is a place where people can watch videos and also chat while they watch. Users can send messages that scroll across the screen like subtitles. These messages are called bullet comments or danmu. They look like they come from a game and users can change how they look and move.

People can also use special effects in their comments if the video creator allows it. To do some special things, users need Bilibili coins, which they earn by using the site or buying them. Anyone with a phone number linked to their account can send these comments. They can scroll from right to left, and viewers can turn them off if they want. There are different ways to show the comments, and video makers can choose which ones to keep or remove.

Operations

In 2012, Bilibili had nine team members who knew a lot about Japanese language and culture. Two of them were web developers, and the others worked on editing and managing the website. Bilibili is free to use, and it makes money mainly from webpage advertising and affiliate marketing.

Most videos on Bilibili can be watched without signing in, but some videos need a membership to view. Some special videos are only available under the Chengbao system, where members must pay. To post videos or comments, you need to be a member. Bilibili limits memberships to keep the quality of users and help manage the site.

In October 2016, Bilibili started a premium membership for about ¥25 per month, which is around US$2. Premium members can watch videos in better quality and get early access to some shows. Starting in 2018, premium members could watch certain animated series a week before regular members.

Bilibili has rules to keep the site safe. In February 2017, they added a way to block accounts that break the rules. This helps delete bad comments and punish users who do wrong things. In June 2017, they also created a "Discipline Committee" made up of trusted members who help decide what actions to take against rule-breakers.

Bilibili also has rules about what kinds of videos can be uploaded. They don’t allow the same video to be uploaded many times, but they do allow different versions, like high and low quality. They also have strict rules about certain topics and only allow certain groups to post about them.

Bilibili also shows sports programs. In 2024, they got the rights to show the Meiji Yasuda J1 League in Southeast Asian countries except Thailand. They also got rights to show HIGHSPEED Étoile and F1 that same year.

Community

Bilibili's community has fun and special parts. The platform's official mascots, named "22" and "33", were chosen by voters in 2010. Both got the same number of votes, so they both became the mascots.

Every year around Chinese New Year, Bilibili holds a special festival. It started in 2010 with 40 influencers making special shows. Over time, more people joined in, and the festival now includes both Japanese anime and Chinese culture.

Bilibili also organizes big offline events. Bilibili Macro Link (BML) began in 2013 and features live shows by influencers. Bilibili World started in 2017 and is a big event for fans of anime and manga. It’s held every year in Shanghai and helps share Chinese culture with the world.

Bilibili has created many online communities too, like DrawYoo for drawing and The Ninth Channel for support. The platform helps creators grow and gives users a place to share and enjoy different kinds of content.

Games

Bilibili and its companies have created many popular games in China. Some of these games include BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!, Guardian Tales, and Escape from Duckov. Other games are Girls' Frontline, Fate/Grand Order, Azur Lane, I-Chu, 100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams, and Jujutsu Kaisen: Phantom Parade. There are also games like Bible Bullet, Fantasy Hunter Story, and Ark Order.

Controversy

Some people have had disagreements or problems with Bilibili.

One artist, Cai Xukun, asked Bilibili to remove funny videos fans made about him. Bilibili decided the videos were okay to stay and did not punish the people who posted them. To avoid any trouble, Bilibili paused checking new accounts for a short time.

Bilibili was also found using servers in Taiwan without permission. This was not allowed because of rules about safety, so they had to stop.

In another case, some old computer instructions from Bilibili were shared online by someone. Bilibili said this was from an old version and they fixed things to keep information safe.

Later, a worker at Bilibili misused their role to cause problems for another user. After learning about this, Bilibili fired the worker, reported what happened, and apologized publicly. They also fixed the problem and gave the affected user a free membership for a year.

Charitable efforts

Bilibili Video Satellite

Bilibili Video Satellite was launched on September 15, 2019. This satellite was developed by CIOMP and was the first video remote sensing satellite made just for a Chinese internet company. Bilibili uses this satellite to help people make videos, especially about science and learning, to help young people understand more about these topics.

Education efforts

On June 26, 2019, Bilibili worked with "Teach for China" to build an elementary school in a village in Dali, Yunnan. Bilibili also helps schools by giving them learning materials for science, creativity, reading, and art videos.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bilibili helped build a Bilibili Dream Elementary School in Zunyi City, Guizhou Province. This school helps families who have a hard time making money, especially in places far away from big cities. Bilibili asked its best video makers to create special video lessons called "Dream Courses."

In 2021, Bilibili started the Bilibili Happiness Scholarship to help children in places where it is hard to get good education. The money for this scholarship came from happy comments sent by people who won an award for making great videos. The scholarship helps children in the country by giving them chances to go on trips and join group activities.