What is Douyu and how to get started

Douyu, also known as 斗鱼, is one of the largest Chinese videos live streaming service platforms, focusing on esports and online gaming.

By the 21YunBox Compliance Team·Reviewed 2026-10-07·Verified against primary sources

What does a foreign brand need to run a presence or live-stream on Douyu in China?

No — opening a Douyu account is the easy part. The gate is a content license your company cannot hold, real-name verification against Chinese documents, and in practice a mainland China entity or a licensed local agency of record.

Douyu is a licensed live audio-visual and online-performance platform. The permit to transmit audio-visual programs is limited to wholly state-owned or state-controlled operators, and internet audio-visual services sit in the foreign-investment-prohibited column — so a foreign brand broadcasts under the platform's license, never its own. Every broadcaster is real-name authenticated against an ID card, business license or organization-code certificate and filed with the provincial internet-information office, which is why a verified Chinese entity or agency of record has to stand behind a foreign brand's channel. Game and esports content you stream must itself be an approved title, and the viewer and campaign data you collect is PIPL-governed. The guide below walks through Douyu's ad formats and partnership contacts once that path is clear.

This is a risk map to confirm with counsel, not a yes/no verdict — the right structure turns on your brand, your content and your data. Our China team can map your path with you →

What a foreign brand must clear to operate on Douyu

Fact	Primary source
The license behind a live audio-visual platform is closed to foreign capital — a brand operates under the platform's permit, not its own. Under the Internet Audiovisual Programme Service Management Regulations (Decree No. 56, in force 2008-01-31), a provider must hold the Information Network Dissemination of Audiovisual Programmes permit or a filing, and without one "no work unit or individual may engage in Internet audiovisual programme service." The applicant must be a "wholly State-owned or State-controlled work unit," and internet audio-visual program services fall in the prohibited column of China's foreign-investment negative list. A foreign brand therefore reaches a platform like Douyu through its licensed Chinese operator and a local entity or agency of record, not a permit of its own.	Internet Audiovisual Programme Service Management Regulations, Decree No. 56 (SARFT & Ministry of Information Industry), Arts. 7-8 — Stanford DigiChina translation; foreign-investment prohibition per China's negative list; retrieved 2026-10-07
Every Douyu broadcaster is real-name verified, so a foreign brand cannot stream from an anonymous or purely overseas account. The Provisions on the Administration of Internet Live-Streaming Services (Cyberspace Administration of China, effective 2016-12-01) require a live-streaming service to authenticate publishers against an ID card, business license or organization-code certificate (身份证件、营业执照、组织机构代码证), verify that identity, and file broadcaster records by category with the provincial internet-information office (Article 12). The practical effect is that a verified Chinese entity or a licensed local agency of record must sit behind the channel a foreign brand runs.	Provisions on the Administration of Internet Live-Streaming Services, Cyberspace Administration of China, Art. 12 (effective 2016-12-01), cac.gov.cn, retrieved 2026-10-07
Game live-streaming is treated as a licensed "online performance," and that license is barred to foreign capital as well. Under the Measures for the Administration of Online Performance Operating Activities (Ministry of Culture, Wen Shi Fa [2016] No. 33), game-technique display and commentary streams count as online performances, and the operating entity must first obtain a Network Culture Business License (网络文化经营许可证) that names online performance in its scope and is shown on the site. Internet culture operation is in the prohibited column of the foreign-investment negative list, so this permit, too, runs through a qualified local operator rather than a foreign brand directly.	Measures for the Administration of Online Performance Operating Activities, Ministry of Culture, Wen Shi Fa [2016] No. 33 — text via China Law Translate; retrieved 2026-10-07
The games you stream must themselves carry Chinese publishing approval. Under the Administrative Regulations on Internet Publishing Services (General Administration of Press and Publication with MIIT, effective 2016-03-10), "online games should be approved by the competent authorities before being published online," and "Sino-foreign equity joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative joint ventures or wholly foreign-owned enterprises" may not engage in internet publishing services. A game's approval number (版号) is issued by the national press-and-publication authority. Regulators have since pressed audio-visual platforms not to stream unapproved titles (reported), so a foreign brand's game or esports content can carry its own content-approval risk.	Administrative Regulations on Internet Publishing Services (2016), provisions on game approval and foreign-invested entities — China Laws Portal (CJO); 2022 game-livestream restriction as reported; retrieved 2026-10-07
The viewer and campaign data a Douyu presence touches is PIPL-governed, and the platform's operating permits are not yours to borrow. Follower, viewer and campaign data is personal information under the Personal Information Protection Law; sending it to overseas systems is a cross-border transfer needing notice, separate consent and a lawful transfer mechanism (PIPL Articles 38-43), and a critical-information-infrastructure operator or large-volume handler must store personal information in mainland China (Cybersecurity Law Article 39 (formerly Article 37); PIPL Article 40). Douyu's own credentials — including its ICP license — belong to the operator; your data obligations stay with you.	Personal Information Protection Law, Arts. 38-43 & 40 — China Laws Portal (CJO); Cybersecurity Law Art. 39 (data-localization clause, renumbered effective 2026-01-01); retrieved 2026-10-07

Sources verified by the 21YunBox compliance team on 2026-10-07.

About Douyu

Douyu, also known as 斗鱼, is one of the largest Chinese videos live streaming service platforms, focusing on esports and online gaming.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Wuhan, China, the live-stream platform provides live content such as games, sports, variety shows, entertainment, and more. It is now the largest gaming live streaming platform popular among esports or gaming influencers in China. As of 2019, Douyu has more than 140 million monthly active users. It got listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Nasdaq) in 2019 and was the largest IPO of any Chinese company on Wall Street that year.

How To Get Started On Douyu

Douyu offers various types of advertising formats and collaboration, including but not limited to:

Landing page ads

Splash screen ads

Reach users once they open the Douyu app

QR code display during live-streaming

QR code will be featured during live-streaming

Douyu has partnered with over 400 brands and companies as of 2020, including JD.com, Intel, Ford, KFC, and Unilever. You can find out more information about various forms of partnership at https://e.douyu.com/, or you may email douyu_dsp@douyu.tv for direct communication.

Many brands use Douyu to reach target customers.

Do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese phone number or Chinese ID? We can help!

If you do not have a Chinese entity, Chinese ID, or Chinese phone number, which is essential to get started on Douyu, 21YunBox is here to help.

We can provide the necessary supporting documents to get started on Douyu and walk you through the process. Meanwhile, we will also bring your company, product, and service into full compliance with Chinese law.