Youku Tudou Inks Separate Deal with Sony Pictures Television,
Completing Premium Coverage of Major Hollywood Studios
BEIJING, Nov. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Youku Tudou
Inc. (NYSE:YOKU), China's largest
Internet television company, signed an agreement with Sony Pictures
Television (SPT) today to bring more than 300 new and classic Sony
Pictures titles to the Youku Premium platform. The five-year Sony
Pictures Television deal comes on the heels of previous Youku Tudou
agreements with each of WB, DreamWorks, Paramount, Twentieth
Century Fox, Disney, NBC Universal, and Lionsgate, rounding out the
company's offerings to include licensed content from all major
Hollywood studios.
300 Sony Pictures titles will become available for paid
on-demand viewing over the duration of the agreement, including
classic titles like Groundhog
Day, Bram
Stoker's Dracula, and Sense and Sensibility,
as well as such critically acclaimed titles as The Fisher
King and Across the Universe. Sony Pictures
Television will also make newer films available
including, Men in Black 3, The Amazing
Spider-Man, and 21 Jump Street.
Youku updated its Youku Premium subscription system on
August 23 to offer subscribers
ad-free access to all videos on Youku's platform, plus 50% off
on-demand film and TV viewing through Youku Premium. The VIP
membership tier additionally offers unlimited viewing of films
covered by monthly subscription licensing agreements. More than
3,000 film titles, including around 450 titles from major
Hollywood studios, will be
available for viewing by the end of 2012.
"We're delighted to be working with Sony Pictures Television to
enrich our film library," said Huilong
Zhu, Youku Tudou's vice president of movie operations and
corporate development. "Since launching Youku Premium in 2010,
Youku Tudou has been committed to building the best platform for
viewers and copyright holders alike, and our strong working
relationships with all eight major Hollywood studios allow us to
offer our viewers a wealth of licensed content. Subscriber growth
for Youku Premium has exceeded our expectations, and we see it as a
sign that Chinese audiences are willing and eager to pay for
quality content. By providing a wide range of payment and
subscription options, Youku Tudou has made it as simple as possible
for them to do so."
After first experimenting with paid viewing for a live broadcast
of comedian Guo Degang's show in August
2009, Youku debuted Youku Premium
(http://yuanxian.youku.com) in beta in late 2010, offering ad-free,
high-resolution premium content on a paid on-demand and
subscription-based basis. China's
first premium video platform, Youku Premium has approximately two
million paid users. Youku Premium combines compelling content
offerings from Chinese and international rights-holders with a
number of quick, easy payment options, while offering
rights-holders a range of options for making content available,
including paid on-demand viewing, free ad-supported viewing, or
viewing through paid subscriptions.
About Youku Tudou Inc.
Youku Tudou Inc. is China's
leading Internet television company. Through Youku and Tudou,
China's two largest online video
platforms, Youku Tudou offers viewers a rich library of content of
premium licensed content, user generated content, and original
in-house productions. According to iResearch, Youku and Tudou
combined reach 310 million viewers per week in September 2012. Youku Tudou's American depositary
shares are traded on NYSE under the symbol "YOKU."
For more information, please contact:
Media Relations:
Jean Shao
Director, International Communications
Youku Tudou Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5885-1881 x7128
Email: shaodan@youku.com
Investor Relations:
Ryan Cheung
Corporate Finance Director
Youku Tudou Inc.
Tel: +86-10-5885-1881 x6090
Email: ryan.cheung@youku.com
SOURCE Youku Tudou Inc.