iQiyi has embraced programmatic advertising for its non-Chinese offering, iQiyi International. A new partnership with Hong Kong’s Acqua Media means that advertisers will be able to access the platform’s inventory through the AdAsia Digital Platform. With iQiyi racking up losses every quarter – much of which can be attributed to heavy investments in content and codec R&D – the platform needs to increase ARPU from its free ad-supported users. They make up most of its half a billion strong audience and yet generate significantly less revenue than their paying counterparts. Perhaps that is where this partnership comes in. It must be noted that programmatic advertising is of a slightly different flavour in Asia. The basics are the same, but this…