BEIJING, Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Youku Inc.
(NYSE: YOKU), China's leading
Internet television company ("Youku"), announced a deal with
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment today under which Youku
will license 250 titles of new release and library films. The
titles will appear on Youku Premium, Youku's on-demand platform,
which has processed more than one million orders since launching in
beta a year ago.
Number of pay-per-view transactions on Youku Premium more than
tripled between Q2 and Q3 of 2011. As of November, a growing
percentage -- 13.5% -- of Youku Premium users paid more than once
per month to view premium content.
"We have been working closely with Hollywood studios in providing quality content
to millions of Chinese Internet users while effectively protecting
intellectual properties," said Huilong
Zhu, Vice president of Movie Operations and Corporate
Development. "We are encouraged by the growth of the Youku Premium
platform, and our new licensing agreement with Fox will make Youku
Premium more compelling for our users."
"We're eager to make our entertainment content accessible to the
widest audience possible in China," said Jamie
McCabe, Executive Vice President, WW PPV, VOD & EST.
"With Youku's on-demand platform, consumers can easily enjoy
our films online with a quality viewing experience."
The 250-film deal will grant Youku Premium the right to offer
Fox's new release films and library titles. Film franchises have
performed well on Youku Premium, with new theatrical releases
driving online interest in previous installments in the franchises,
and the new deal includes online rights to some of Fox's most
beloved franchises including Planet of the Apes, Ice Age, X-Men and
Alien. The films will begin appearing on Youku Premium this month,
ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday
in late January.
Youku is the leader among China's online video sites in introducing a
new model for content distribution under which recently released
films become available for on-demand viewing for a certain period
of time, after which they may become available either to premium
plan subscribers or for free on-demand viewing. Titles licensed
under the new agreement with Fox will be available purely on a
transactional pay-per-view basis, without a subscription or free
on-demand component.
About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a
recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company.
Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking
from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales
and distribution company for all Fox film and television
programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray
Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The
company also releases all products globally for MGM Home
Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly
enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass
merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce
throughout the world.
About Youku
Youku Inc. is China's leading
Internet television company. Our Internet television platform
enables users to search, view and share high-quality video content
quickly and easily across multiple devices. Youku, which stands for
"what's best and what's cool" in Chinese, is the most recognized
online video brand in China.
Youku's American depositary shares, each representing 18 of our
Class A ordinary shares, are traded on NYSE under the symbol
"YOKU."
For more information, please contact:
Media Relations:
Jean Shao
Director, International Communications
Youku Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5885-1881 x7128
Email: shaodan@youku.com
Investor Relations:
Ryan Cheung
Corporate Finance Director
Youku Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5885-1881 x6090
Email: ryan.cheung@youku.com
SOURCE Youku Inc.