Core Viewpoint - The decline of former content giants like Ximalaya and Hupu reflects a broader struggle within the content platform industry, characterized by strategic instability and a singular business model, leading to a harsh re-evaluation of their market value by capital [1][10]. Group 1: Strategic Instability - Ximalaya, once a leader in the online audio market, faced significant challenges in its growth trajectory, with a compound annual growth rate of 69.5% from 2016 to 2020, but struggled with its IPO attempts in the U.S. and Hong Kong [2][3]. - The company's revenue from subscription services showed minimal growth from 29.92 billion yuan in 2021 to 31.89 billion yuan in 2023, while its paid content revenue declined from 10.58 billion yuan in 2021 to 6.94 billion yuan in 2023 [3][4]. - Internal conflicts among leadership regarding strategic direction contributed to Ximalaya's decision to sell itself to Tencent Music, abandoning its independent listing ambitions [4]. Group 2: Business Model Limitations - Hupu, another content platform, was acquired by Xunlei for 500 million yuan, highlighting its struggles with a single revenue model heavily reliant on advertising, which constituted 90% of its income [5][7]. - Hupu's user base, primarily male, showed limited willingness to spend, leading to repeated IPO failures and a significant drop in valuation from a peak of 7.7 billion yuan [6][7]. - The BBS model employed by Hupu has become increasingly ineffective in the current digital landscape, as traditional community forums face decline in user engagement and monetization potential [7][8]. Group 3: Common Industry Challenges - Both Ximalaya and Hupu exemplify the common challenges faced by content platforms, including a lack of clear strategic positioning and a tendency to oscillate between different business models [8][9]. - The single revenue model issue persists, with Ximalaya's income primarily from subscriptions and Hupu's from advertising, limiting their financial resilience [9]. - There is a growing disconnect between user value and commercial value, as platforms struggle to balance user experience with revenue generation, leading to potential conflicts with content creators over profit-sharing [9]. Group 4: Re-evaluation of Content Platforms - The sell-off of Ximalaya and Hupu signals a shift in capital market valuation logic, where mere user numbers and community engagement are no longer sufficient to justify high valuations [10]. - The industry is moving away from a reliance on traffic and singular narratives for valuation, emphasizing the need for clear strategies, diversified business models, and effective user value conversion to secure future investment [10].

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the sale of Hupu for 500 million RMB, highlighting the decline of the platform and contrasting it with the valuation of Xiaohongshu at approximately 26 billion USD, suggesting a disparity in male consumer power [3][4]. Group 1: Hupu's Decline - Hupu's revenue model has become heavily reliant on advertising, with reports indicating that advertising could account for up to 90% of total revenue after the separation of its e-commerce businesses [6][8]. - The community forum model has entered a vicious cycle of low monetization, leading to significant user attrition, with monthly active users dropping from 55 million in 2017 to only 5.79 million by 2020 [9][10]. - Hupu's inability to retain users has weakened its community ecosystem, making it difficult to attract advertisers, which in turn exacerbates the decline [9][10]. Group 2: Acquisition by Xunlei - The acquisition of Hupu by Xunlei, a company also facing challenges, raises questions about the strategic value of the purchase, as both companies are seen as struggling [13][14]. - Despite its difficulties, Xunlei reported a slight increase in total revenue and gross profit in Q1 2025, reaching 8.88 million USD in revenue [17][19]. - Xunlei has diversified its business, successfully expanding into overseas live streaming, which has become its fastest-growing segment [23][25]. Group 3: Market Perception and Potential - The article argues that the perception of low male consumer power is misleading, as platforms like Dewu demonstrate significant male purchasing power, with Dewu's monthly active users exceeding 10 million and a valuation of 71 billion RMB [29]. - Hupu still holds value in the sports information sector, with its unique community structure providing a platform for discussions that cannot be easily replicated by video-based platforms [32][34]. - The article suggests that Xunlei's acquisition could potentially revitalize Hupu by leveraging its user base and content to enhance Xunlei's ecosystem, particularly in live streaming [35].